Princeton resident Albert Angrisani, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor, dies at 70 from COVID-19 complications

Princeton resident Albert Angrisani, a leading expert on corporate turnarounds and the former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Ronald Reagan, died as a result of complications from COVID-19 at the Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro on Thursday, April 23. He was 70.

In addition to being a business and government leader, Angrisani was also an author and business media personality and was a regular commentator on several national news programs including CNBC, Fox Business News, and Bloomberg TV.

Born in Newark, he spent much of his life in Princeton. In recent years he often split his time between Princeton and New York City.

Angrisani served as vice president of Chase Manhattan Bank in New York from 1972 to 1980. He left Chase to begin his tenure with the Reagan Administration, where he was the head of strategic planning for investment, trust, and private banking and played a major role in the businesses and economic recovery plan that created 16 million new jobs. He authored the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, which was one of the nation’s first public/private partnerships and a major part of Reagan’s job creation program.

He went on to hold executive positions with Arthur D. Little’s strategy consulting business division. In 1990, he started his own company, Angrisani Partners, an advisory and investment firm in Princeton that helped troubled companies restructure their business operations and balance sheets. The firm was later called Angrisani Turnarounds. In 2014, he created TurnVest Partners, a private investment company focused on investing in public and private distressed companies.

As an author, he wrote two books that became immediately popular in the corporate world. The first book, “Win One for the Shareholders,” is a widely used primer for businesses struggling to survive in the competitive corporate world. His second book, “From Last to First,” drew on his own extensive life experience, beginning with the disadvantaged background he overcame to coach both individuals and businesses in building true and lasting wealth. 

His family members said his humble beginnings drove him to help others. As a philanthropist, he donated time and money to a variety of causes, often focusing on the twin problems of hunger and homelessness. He donated all of the profits from his first book to a New-York-City-based organization serving the homeless.

He was a beloved father and grandfather, known as “Papa” to his seven grandchildren, Aiden, Reed, and Mabel Fratangelo, Landon and Noelle Nielsen, and Cortland and Reese Gautieri. He is survived by three daughters and their husbands, Catherine and (Jason) Nielsen, Sarah and (Glenn) Fratangelo, and Elizabeth and (Eric) Gautieri, two brothers and two sisters, Frank, Russell and Marion Angrisani and Frances Lein.

A private graveside service will be held, with a memorial service to be held at a later date. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to The Ronald Reagan Foundation (reaganfoundation.org) or a charity of your choice.