More Wacky Comments from Hearst's Millstein- Sliming Greenwich Democrat Bergstresser

by: thomashooker

Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 12:04:06 PM EDT

was the Jimmy Carter of Greenwich politics who had no discernible executive skills. He only benefitted from the enmity toward Lolly Prince who was punished for allowing Stamford to successfully penetrate Greenwich Point..."

After graduating from one of the country's best colleges, Pomona, with a degree in mathematics, Dick Bergstresser served as an officer in the United States Army and was posted to Germany.  Now something tells me that as an officer in the United States military, one is taught a little bit in the way of "executive skills".  He then attended several executive management schools, including France's INSEAD, perhaps the best business school in Europe, where he completed the course of study, "Managing Multi-National Corporations,".  He also attended MIT's Sloan School; and was sent by IBM to the course, "Managing Critical Resources" at the University of Virginia.

After the military, Mr. Bergstresser, he "with no discernible executive skills", went to work for IBM where, as Dick recounts, he "worked on the first commercially produced computers, and helped to install pioneering applications such as mass spectrometer analysis, highway design and water reservoir simulation."  Then he moved on to installing large scientific computers for NASA as a systems engineer, and later as a computer systems designer and implementer of specialized operating systems for NASA.  

But here's the really good part about "no discernible executive skills" Bergstresser.  After working as a systems engineer and computer systems designer for one of the leading computer companies in the world, he then managed an IBM development team implementing a major operating system enhancement, managed several experimental application systems development projects, served as Director of Programming Systems Marketing, managed a strategic market planning staff and managed experimental programming projects.

But it gets better.  At this point, however, I hope Hearst senior VP Millstein is racing to print a retraction of his blog post about Dick Bergstresser.

In the early '80's, Bergstresser was selected to be the director of IBM's Scientific Centers, managing an applied research organization that included three centers staffed with over two hundred graduate computer scientists working on innovations in computer systems and applications. Now I want to repeat that for Lincoln Millstein's benefit:

Dick Bergrstresser managed an applied research organization that included three centers staffed with over two hundred graduate computer scientists working on innovations in computer systems and applications.

Then in 1990, Dick was appointed Director of University Relations for Research responsible for a ten million-dollar donation program supporting university research.  Dick Bergstresser retired from IBM after nearly four decades in 1993.  Then "no discernible executive skills" Bergstresser started a business as a management consultant specializing in information systems planning and implementation.

Shall we count how many executive jobs former first selectman Dick Bergstresser held at IBM?  In the U.S. Army?  How many top management schools he attended?  But we're on a roll, and there's much more to Dick Bergstresser.

Before he was elected first selectman, Dick Bergstresser served for four years as a selectman on the town's three-member board of selectmen.  Seems to me that he would have acquired an executive skill or two over those four years.  He also represented Greenwich to the Westchester Airport Advisory Board and chaired the Selectman's Committee on Airports.  Prior to that, Dick:

*Represented Greenwich's District 7 in the Representative Town Meeting for eighteen years;
*Served on the Parks & Recreation Committee where he was the Vice-Chairman;
*Served on the Selectman's Information Systems Planning Committee (1989 to 1991);
*Chaired the RTM Moderator's Technology Advisory Committee;
*Served on the Selectman's Technology Advisory and Planning Committee;

Can we discern some executive skills yet?  They're coming into focus for me.  But wait!  There's more.  Dick Bergstresser before serving as Greenwich first selectman,

*Served on the boards of three United Way Agencies: Greenwich Family Center; Transportation Association of Greenwich (TAG); and ARC.  

* Served as president of the Old Church Road Association;

*as Chairman of the University of Connecticut Computer Science Advisory Board; and
*as Director of the Stanwich Country Club.

There's one more snide remark that Lincoln Millstein made about Dick Bergstresser before he waxed nostalgic about his Republican successor Jim Lash: that Dick Bergstresser is the "Jimmy Carter" of Greenwich politics.  Honestly, I haven't the faintest idea what he means by that.  Unlike the four years under Jimmy Carter, Greenwich didn't suffer any economic problems under Dick Bergstresser, and the town's finances remained robust.  No one from the town was taken hostage by Iranian radicals.  So Heaven only knows what in the world he was thinking when Millstein called him that.

If Hearst senior VP Millstein had taken just a few moments to check his facts, he never would have written that Dick Bergstresser had "no discernible executive skills."  That sort of claim by one so senior in a major newspaper group reflects poorly on Hearst.  It raises questions regarding Hearst's standards of professionalism when one so senior could make statements on its official website that are so at variance with the truth.  And keep in mind that this post slamming Bergstresser comes after Mr. Millstein made false comments about Greenwich DTC member Peter Berg.  

Is anyone in Hearst concerned about this loose cannon?  About professionalism?  About getting the facts straight?  Apparently not.  In any case, I hope Dick Bergstresser is getting a great laugh out of the zany comments from Hearst.  And I hope he appreciates that someone has set the record straight.