Wrestling leader Art Rutzen died unexpectedly at age 57
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Arthur C. Rutzen of San Francisco, Calif., who was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American, died unexpectedly at his home on Thursday, January 20.
Rutzen was a successful high school and college wrestler, and went on to an amazing career in business, with leadership positions in the financial industry. He served on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors, and was active in wrestling at other levels.
Since 1988, Rutzen has served as the CEO of SDR Capital Management, and was named Chairman of the Board in 2000. Under his direction SDR flourished and was named by San Francisco Business Times as one of the fastest growing companies in 2003.
Prior to joining SDR, Rutzen was Group Executive Vice President and Senior Executive Officer of The Pacific Bank. Prior to working with The Pacific Bank, Mr. Rutzen served as President and CEO of First Interstate Investments, Inc., where he managed all investment sales for retail and institutional investment products at First Interstate’s 1,150 branch offices and 35 Private Client Service Centers. He also served as CEO and Senior Managing Director of Wells Fargo Securities, Inc. and was one of ten Group Heads for Wells Fargo Bank.
As Executive Vice President of Security Pacific Bank’s Merchant Banking Group in 1983, Rutzen was instrumental in founding Pacific Century Advisors, Inc., a national investment management and mutual fund subsidiary, now part of Bank of America. At Pacific Century, Rutzen helped to create the PacificHorizon Mutual Funds.
He had over twenty-five years of experience in managing all phases of investment management businesses, including sales and marketing, portfolio management, trust and administration, brokerage and insurance products, and new product development. His group at Wells Fargo was ranked number one in the U.S. for six years in a row.
Rutzen was a state high school wrestling champion for Herricks High School in New York in 1966. He went on to wrestling powerhouse Lehigh Univ., where he was a varsity wrestler. He remained active in wrestling for many years, competing for the New York Athletic Club. Overall, he won 15 freestyle, folkstyle and Greco-Roman tournaments as a Senior-level wrestler, with three All-American honors. He was a member of eight NYAC teams that won national team titles. He coached under-privileged youth on Long Island for the Police Athletic League, and motivated a number of high school students to compete in college.
Rutzen received his B.S. and M.B.A. from Lehigh Univ. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He was also a guest lecturer at the Graduate School of Business at Harvard University in the early 1980s.
“He has been a great supporter of Lehigh wrestling,” said Lehigh head wrestling coach Greg Strobel. “Art came to many of our matches and was a financial supporter of the program. He helped with the Grace Hall project, and assisted with our club program. He also hired wrestlers into the financial industry. We will surely miss him. We were absolutely shocked to hear of his passing.”
He remained active in his community during his adult life. Rutzen was knighted by The Sovereign Order of St. John for community service. He served on the boards of the American Conservatory Theatre and the Stern Grove Committee. He was also a member of the Advisory Board of the National Junior Tennis League, founded by the late Arthur Ashe to aid inner city children.
He is survived by his loving wife Victoria and his beloved children: Sandy, Tres, Judy, Allie, Wolfie and Rocky. His first grandson Joey is expected in two weeks. He is additionally survived by his mother, Helen of Delray Beach, Fla.; and his brother Barry Knox of New Canaan, Conn.
Friends are invited to a Memorial of Art’s remarkable life and boundless spirit at Calvary Presbyterian Church at 2515 Fillmore Street in San Francisco on Weds., January 26th at 11am. A reception will follow in Calvin Hall at Calvary Church. In lieu of flowers, his family request donations be made to your favorite children’s charity.
– from reports from the San Francisco Chronicle, SDR Capital Management and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.
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