BDO Seidman memorialized the passing of former managing partner and FDIC Chairman L. William Bill Seidman, a member of the firms founding family.
Seidman died Wednesday in Albuquerque at the age of 88.
All of us are saddened to hear the news of the passing of Bill Seidman, said CEO Jack Weisbaum. BDO Seidman is grateful for the role Bill played in our firms success through the years and recognize his tremendous accomplishments and contributions. Bill was instrumental in setting the course that has carried BDO Seidman to where it is today.
Seidman was the son of F.E. Seidman, the brother and partner of BDO Seidman founder Maximillian L. Seidman. He began his career at the firm in 1949 in New York, when it was known as Seidman & Seidman. In 1952, he joined the Grand Rapids, Mich., office where he became a partner. Active in both civic and governmental affairs, he was the first practicing CPA to be appointed director and chairman of the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He also helped found Grand Valley State College, now known as Grand Valley State University, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
While managing partner from 1968 to 1974, Seidman took the firm from a family business to a national public accounting firm. The firm formalized its national structure and built programs for recruiting, training, professional development and practice development. Through both internal growth and mergers and acquisitions, over a four-year period the firm established more than 20 new offices nationwide and expanded its presence in another 10 cities.
In addition to his achievements at the firm, Seidman was a Navy veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star. He was also an economic advisor to President Gerald Ford, and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 to chair the FDIC, which he led until 1991. While at the FDIC, he was appointed chairman of the Resolution Trust Company, the agency tasked with fixing the savings and loan crisis, by President George H. W. Bush in 1989. He led the RTC until the end of his tenure with the FDIC in 1991. Seidman also authored two books and became a financial commentator on CNBC.
