Russell H. Hassler, professor of Business Administration and Finance, Associate Dean, executive and accountant, was born in Connersville, Indiana in 1906. He attended DePauw University and Indiana University. After graduation he went to work as an accountant for Edward Gore & Company in 1929 where he worked until accepting the position of comptroller at Stant Manufacturing Company in Connersville, Indiana in 1943.
In 1946, he was appointed Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Within the same year, he was appointed Professor of Finance. In 1956, Hassler became an Associate Dean of the Business School and eventually played a central role in the creation of the Advanced Management Program. While at the Business School, Hassler held various consulting positions. These include positions at General Electric, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and Ohio, General Mills, Dewey and Almy Chemical Company and Remington Rand Corporation.
Throughout his tenure at HBS, Hassler also became involved in various consulting activities in Hawaii. He helped form an Advanced Management Program at the University of Hawaii in 1954 in addition to serving as a consultant for Hawaiian Electric Company. Drawn into the possibilities for future growth and expansion of Hawaiian Electric, Hassler resigned from Harvard Business School in 1962 to become Vice President of the company. Within a year he was appointed Financial Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors. In 1964, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Coast Stock Exchange and by 1966, Hassler became the President of Hawaiian Electric.
Russell H. Hassler died in Hawaii in 1969. He was survived by his wife, Edith and daughter Judith.
From the guide to the Russell H. Hassler papers, 1946-1969, (Baker Library, Harvard Business School)
