Lasting Memories

Cordell William Hull
Sept. 12, 1933-Dec. 26, 2022
Atherton, California

Cordell William Hull, 89 of Atherton, California died peacefully at home on December 26, 2022 surrounded by his family. He was born September 12,1933 in Dayton, Ohio to Murel and Julia Hull. After graduating high school, he was self-supporting, working various jobs to pay for his many subsequent academic achievements. He received his Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering with honors from the University of Dayton before moving to Boston to attend graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering in 1957. It was during this time that on a blind date he met Susan, his devoted wife of 65 years, marrying at her grandmother’s home in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1958. He served as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army, obtaining the rank of Captain. With Susan’s help, Cordell continued his education and received his law degree from Harvard Law School, Cum Laude, in 1962.

Cordell's career achievements were equally as impressive as his academic pedigree. Upon graduating from law school, he joined the Cincinnati, Ohio law firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister and subsequently left to join one of its clients, the engineering and construction company C&I Girdler, first as an in-house attorney and then as President of C&I Girdler International, based initially in the Bahamas and then in Brussels. In 1970 Cordell joined the engineering and construction firm Bechtel Group, Inc. based in San Francisco. Cordell left Bechtel in 1973 to become President of American Express Company’s newly formed merchant banking operation in London, American Express International Development Company. After successfully establishing the American Express unit, Cordell returned to Bechtel in the mid 1970’s where he continued to work for many decades. Cordell’s scope of responsibilities during his career at Bechtel spanned from running major divisions to executive responsibility for core Bechtel Group activities including finance, legal and insurance, treasury and controller operations, internal audit and chairing Bechtel’s Audit and Finance Committee. He retired from Bechtel as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors. Other Bechtel positions included Chairman of Bechtel Enterprises, President of Bechtel Power, Chief Financial Officer of the Bechtel Group, President of Bechtel Financing Services, and Director and member of the Executive Committee of the Fremont Group, a Bechtel-related investment company.

During and following his tenure at Bechtel, Cordell served on numerous boards, including as a director for Gilead Sciences, Inc., chairman of the Advisory Board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, director at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, director at Stanford Research Institute, chairman of the International Engineering and Construction Industries Council and a member of the Services Policy Advisory Committee to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Following his retirement from Bechtel, Cordell co-founded Energy Asset Management, LLC and later founded and served as Senior Managing Director of InfrastructureWorld, Inc.

Cordell will be remembered not only as an accomplished scholar and business leader but also for his keen mind, unwavering ethics and abundant generosity. In addition to his business endeavors, Cordell was an avid traveler, reader, self-taught sailor, and devoted grandfather. He is survived by his wife Susan, son Bradford (Mary), daughter Pamela (John), son Andrew, his brother Murel Hull, sister Joyce Downs, and eight grandchildren.