Background
Born in Chicago, Illinois, after the early death of his mother, Robert Fomon and his older brother Samuel, spent their childhood with relatives in Appleton, Wisconsin where they attended high school.
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Robert Michael
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University of Southern California.
Career
Robert went on to graduate from the University of Southern California and in 1951 went to work in the corporate finance department of the Los Angeles office of East. F. Hutton & Company
Formon joined East. F. Hutton in 1951, eventually rising to head of corporate finance. In 1970, he was named chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hutton as a compromise candidate and relocated to its headquarters in Manhattan, New New York During his tenure, Fomon oversaw the sale of Hutton shares to the public and listing on the New York Stock exchange, and the creation of its famous advertising slogan, "When East. F. Hutton talks, people listen." The May 6, 1987 New York Times wrote that his leadership "helped build the retail-oriented brokerage house into one of the industry"s most successful during a difficult era on Wall Street." Robert Fomon also recognized the potential dangers of mergers in the financial industry and advised the Republican administration of President Nixon that he believed there was a fundamental conflict of interest in the case of money management firms and brokerage houses and the two should operate as independent entities.
Business scandal and resignation
In 1984 the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania opened a federal criminal probe into an East. F. Hutton check-overdrafting scheme that operated between 1980 and 1982 and which earned the company millions of dollars in illegal gains.
As a result, the company"s reputation was severely tarnished and it began losing clients which quickly led to financial difficulties. In December 1986, the company pled guilty to 2,000 felony counts, but neither Robert Fomon or any Hutton executives were charged.
In early 1987, Hutton"s Board of Directors forced Robert Fomon to step down as head of the company. East. F. Hutton & Company never recovered from the damage the scandal caused and in 1988 it was acquired by Shearson Lehman Brothers.
Robert Fomon died following a heart attack at a Palm Beach, Florida hospital on May 31, 2000 at age seventy-five.
