William S. Ruben died recently in New York Cornell Hospital after fighting lymphoma; he was 73.
For almost 50 years Ruben participated in the retail industry and is primarily recognized for running the Bonwit Teller (New York) and Jordan Marsh (Miami) chains. Bonwit's president and ceo from 1983 to 1987, Ruben was the chain's tenth executive in only 14 years. Faced with the task of reestablishing the business to profitability after several years of losses, Ruben did not waver.
Ruben's associates remember him as a soft-spoken, well-liked and respected man who “never lost sight of the value of maintaining strong fashion businesses,” says Saks Fifth Avenue chairman, Philip Miller. Jack Mulqueen, chairman of Jack Mulqueen Co., and a friend of Ruben's, describes him: “He was always full of enthusiasm, and truly enjoyed spending his time on the selling floors, reading the customers.”