Putney Westerfield

Putney Westerfield, 92, executive search executive, magazine publisher and CIA officer, passed away peacefully on August 24 at The Sequoias, a retirement community in Portola Valley, California.

Putney was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Yale Economics Professor Ray B. Westerfield and secondary school Classics Teacher Beatrice Westerfield. He was a 1947 graduate of the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, where he received the School Seal Prize, awarded to the student in the senior class who made outstanding contributions to the school. He then attended Yale, class of 1951, where he majored in history and political science and was an editor of the Yale Daily News. While at Yale, he also co-founded two other publishing ventures, Careers Inc and The Connecticut Shore.

Joining the Central Intelligence Agency after graduation, he served in Hong Kong and the Philippines (1951-52) and South Korea (1953-54). He married Anne Montgomery of Hillsborough, California, in April 1954. After a stint in Washington, the CIA assigned them and their six-week-old son Brad to Saigon, Vietnam, in 1955. His work there focused on strengthening the newly established Republic of Vietnam.

Upon completion of his CIA assignment in 1957, and settling in Greenwich, Connecticut, Putney joined Time Inc. in New York. He soon became Circulation Director of Time magazine (a position he used to help invent the infamous loose subscription cards which fall out of magazines), followed by positions as Assistant Publisher of Time, Assistant Publisher of

Life, and finally, Publisher of Fortune (1968-73).

In 1973, he became President of Chase World Information Corporation, a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Bank, which provided global information services to multinational companies. In 1976, Putney joined Boyden International, a global executive search firm. He and his family moved to Hillsborough, California, and he became west coast manager in San Francisco. Several years later, he was elected chairman and president by the firm’s global partners, and he continued to manage the firm from San Francisco and New York. The firm experienced rapid international growth during his tenure. Over the years, the Westerfields enjoyed attending the firm’s annual meetings in such locations as Hong Kong, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Versailles, Copenhagen, Taipei, Stockholm, London, and Berlin. Putney remained active in searches after his retirement from Boyden.

Pro bono work was an important part of Putney’s life. He served as a Trustee of Choate from 1967-77 and served as Chairman of the Choate Alumni Fund and the Choate Alumni Association. He chaired most of his class reunions, and in 2002 he was honored with the school’s first Distinguished Service Award for Alumni. Putney also served on the Board of the Association of Yale Alumni and was chairman of the 60th Reunion of the Class of 1951. He also served on the Board of the Urban League of New York and the Westover School in Connecticut. Combining his publishing experience and his love of music, he spent several years on the Board of Rolling Stone magazine. Putney also served on two international boards. USSALEP (United States-South Africa Leadership Exchange Program), which he served from 1971-1995, organized the exchange of leaders from diverse backgrounds, with the goal of facilitating a peaceful end to apartheid. In 1989, he helped establish the East Meets West Foundation, which was devoted to improving the lives of orphans in Vietnam.

Putney’s careers required extensive international travel which became a lifelong hobby and passion. He visited over 100 countries, most with Anne, others more properly classified as “adventure travel.” He was a voracious reader of history and biography and followed world news daily, all which inspired his many journeys. He kept diaries of many of his more exotic trips, and often produced “trip reports” which he sent to delighted friends. He marveled at the world’s natural beauty, architectural and cultural wonders, relished reliving history, and was a firm believer in the unique ability of travel to educate and enlighten.

Throughout his life, he found pleasure in a variety of activities. He enjoyed playing tennis and swimming, preferably in the ocean, and ideally with waves to bodysurf. He found relaxation in camping and hiking in the Sierras. An avid piano player with a wide range of tastes, he played classical to Broadway tunes, hymns to ragtime, and as an enthusiastic football fan, many college alma maters and fight songs, including rousing renditions of “For God, For Country and For Yale.”

In 2012, Putney and Anne moved to The Sequoias where his varied interests and piano playing led to many new friendships. He also treasured the many bonds formed over the years at the Round Hill Club and the Field Club in Greenwich, the Misquamicut Club in the summer community of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and later in California at the Burlingame Club, the Pacific Union Club, and the Bohemian Club.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Anne, and their children, F. Bradford Westerfield of Vero Beach, FL, G. Geoffrey Westerfield (Renee) of Menlo Park, CA, Clare Westerfield Evans (James) of Burlingame, CA, grandchildren Katherine and Taylor Evans, Mark (Alyssa) and Emily Westerfield, and great grandson Vigo Westerfield.

Putney loved the extraordinary beauty found locally in the hills and coastline of the Peninsula. Those who wish to honor him may do so with a contribution to POST (Peninsula Open Space Trust) in Palo Alto, CA.