Gulfstream Resuscitator Teddy Forstmann Flies West
Teddy Forstmann, the man who was credited with turning around Gulfstream Aerospace in the 1990s, died Sunday, reportedly from brain cancer.
Teddy Forstmann, 71, is credited with turning around Gulfstream Aerospace in the 1990s. (Photo: Kirby J. Harrison)
Teddy Forstmann, 71, is credited with turning around Gulfstream Aerospace in the 1990s. (Photo: Kirby J. Harrison)

Teddy Forstmann, the man who was credited with turning around Gulfstream Aerospace in the 1990s, died Sunday, reportedly from brain cancer. His investment firm, Forstmann Little, acquired Gulfstream in 1990 for $800 million.

When the Savannah, Ga.-based aircraft manufacturer began experiencing financial difficulties, Forstmann took a hands-on approach and appointed himself chairman and CEO. During his seven-year tenure, he revamped the management team, created new product lines, introduced aircraft fractional ownership and launched the then-flagship GV. (Gulfstream’s new flagship model, the G650, received provisional type certification on Friday.) After turning around the company, he sold Gulfstream to General Dynamics for $5.6 billion in 1999.