John Whitman

John Russell Whitman (June 8, 1944 – July 2, 2015) was an American businessman and investment banker who served as first gentleman of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, as the husband of Governor Christine Todd Whitman. Whitman worked in the fields of banking and financial services. Early life and education Whitman was born in Albany, New York in 1944. His grandfather, Charles S. Whitman, was the 41st Governor of New York (serving from 1915 to 1919), and his father, Charles Seymour Whitman Jr., was a New York civil court judge. He had a brother (Charles S. Whitman, III) and a sister (Janet Whitman). Whitman earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University, graduating in 1966. He then served as a first lieutenant in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1971. Career Whitman began his banking career with Citicorp in 1972, eventually rising to Vice President in charge of the Corporate Finance Department of Citicorp International Bank Ltd. in London.