Cornell University. Photo: sach1tb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornell_University,_Ho_Plaza_and_Sage_Hall.jpg)
Stanford University. Photo: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanford_Oval_May_2011_panorama.jpg)
Cornell University. Photo: sach1tb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornell_University,_Ho_Plaza_and_Sage_Hall.jpg)
Stanford University. Photo: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanford_Oval_May_2011_panorama.jpg)
entrepreneur business executive
Kinzelberg was born on March 4, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois, to Harry and Elaine (Feigenbaum) Kinzelberg. His early life was connected with the Chicago metropolitan area, where he later developed a career in business and capital-equipment finance.
He married Linda Sue Gerber on June 18, 1969. They have two children, John David and Scott Michael.
Kinzelberg studied operations research at Cornell University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in 1967. Cornell, founded in 1865 as a land-grant university, combined practical scientific and engineering education with broad academic instruction; its College of Engineering provided the institutional setting for his later work in business and finance.
He continued at Stanford University, receiving a Master of Science degree in Economic Planning in 1968 as a Ford fellow. Stanford's graduate programs in economics and related analytical fields developed within the university's broader tradition of applied research and innovation in the American West.
Kinzelberg began his business career in marketing and became a national account manager at International Business Machines Corporation, where he worked from 1968 to 1973. IBM was a major American computer manufacturer and technology company whose products and services helped shape the expansion of business computing during this period.
From 1973 to 1976, he served as an executive and director of Triarco in Wheeling, Illinois. He then worked as a leasing specialist for Itel Corporation from 1976 to 1979. Itel was a diversified American technology and finance company whose leasing operations provided equipment-finance services during the expansion of computer use by corporations.
In 1979, Kinzelberg founded Meridian Leasing Corporation and served as its president, chairman, and director through 1992. Under his leadership, Meridian developed into a major independent computer-equipment lessor, with annual sales reported at more than half a billion dollars and a position as the second-largest independent computer equipment lessor in the United States.
In 1992, after selling Meridian, he founded Sequel Capital Corporation and became its president and chief executive officer. Sequel's activities included strategic bridge and mezzanine lending, private-equity investing, lease financing, and financial structuring for companies acquiring capital equipment. Kinzelberg has also been identified as a manager of Sequel Funding, LLC.
His professional work was accompanied by long-term involvement with Cornell University and Highland Park Hospital. He served as a trustee of Cornell for eight years and later became a life trustee emeritus, participating in investment, buildings and properties, and student-affairs work. Cornell later established the Harvey Kinzelberg Enterprise Engineering Program, an undergraduate initiative connecting engineering education with entrepreneurship and business planning.
Kinzelberg founded Meridian Leasing Corporation in 1979 and developed it into a major independent computer-equipment leasing company, with reported annual sales exceeding half a billion dollars.
He endowed Cornell University's Harvey Kinzelberg Enterprise Engineering Program, which connected undergraduate engineering education with entrepreneurship, economics, and high-technology business planning.
He contributed to Cornell's entrepreneurial ecosystem through trustee service, advisory work, and later participation in alumni entrepreneurship and investment initiatives.
Kinzelberg is Jewish. Judaism is a monotheistic religious tradition grounded in the covenantal relationship between God and the Jewish people, the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic interpretation, communal practice, and ethical responsibility.
His documented public biography identifies his religious affiliation but does not provide further details about his observance or theological views.
Kinzelberg's documented professional and philanthropic activities reflect an emphasis on entrepreneurship, financial structuring, engineering education, and the practical connection between technical knowledge and business development. His support for Cornell programs placed particular importance on preparing engineers to understand commercial planning and high-technology enterprise.
Kinzelberg participated in professional, educational, medical, and civic organizations. His service as a Cornell University trustee and later trustee emeritus connected him with the governance of a major research university, while his advisory work supported entrepreneurship and environmental programs.
He also served with Highland Park Hospital and related health-care organizations. His memberships and committee work included financial, investment, campus, and facilities responsibilities, reflecting his continuing involvement in institutional administration beyond his private businesses.
Served as a trustee for eight years and was later elected trustee emeritus for life; committee work included investments, buildings and properties, and student affairs and campus life.
Cornell University Board of Trustees , United States
Served on the advisory council and supported Cornell's entrepreneurship programs.
Entrepreneurship at Cornell Advisory Council , United States
Served as an advisory-board member.
Cornell University Center for the Environment Advisory Board , United States
Served as a trustee and participated in investment and finance committee work.
Highland Park Hospital , United States
1992 - 1994
Was a member of the engineering honor society.
Tau Beta Pi , United States
Was a member.
Cornell Tower Club , United States
Was a member.
Northmoor Country Club , United States
Kinzelberg married Linda Sue Gerber on June 18, 1969. They have two children, John David Kinzelberg and Scott Michael Kinzelberg.
His long-term institutional connections included Cornell University, where he was a trustee and later trustee emeritus, and Highland Park Hospital, where he served in governance and advisory roles. Cornell's Harvey Kinzelberg Enterprise Engineering Program was endowed in his honor in 1992, and the program was later developed to help engineering students connect technical education with entrepreneurship and business practice.
