In Memory: Albert LeRoy Zesiger, Age 95

Albert LeRoy Zesiger [1929-2024]. Born April 2, 1929 in Lakewood, Ohio, and died August 16, 2024 in Rye, New York, Al felt that he had lived a long and meaningful life. He believed that we are known by what we leave behind. To this end, his best and strongest legacies are his long and successful marriage to Barrie Ramsay Zesiger and the pride in his children who have carved out for themselves lives of fulfillment and caring.

Al is survived by Barrie and his children – Jeffrey A. Zesiger, David William Zesiger, Douglas Craig Zesiger, Susan Zesiger Callaway, Albert Carey Zesiger, Nicola Zesiger Mullen, and Alexa Zesiger Carver – and eighteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. After his family, central to his legacy is his ability to give back to the communities that contributed to the financial success he achieved. This includes the Al ’51 and Barrie Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York City’s AquaCenter at Asphalt Green, the renovation of the Highland Center at Crawford Notch for the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Jack Al and Betty Bear huts of the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association in Colorado. These gifts demonstrate Al’s belief that aerobic exercise is essential to provide the strength and health to live a fulfilling life.

Al was always an optimist who was attracted to the new and different. During his investment career he was early to invest in Asian markets, starting with Japan in the 1960s and including Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam beginning in the 1990s. He had great success investing in the US biotech industry, putting himself on the same terms as his clients by making, at the same time and price, direct investments in private securities. Al ran 18 marathons, swam numerous times from Alcatraz to San Francisco and across San Francisco’s Golden Gate, trained for but never competed in triathlons, and rode his beloved horse Lukas in many eventing competitions.

With his wife, Barrie Ramsay Zesiger, to whom he was married for over 37 years, Al took pride in making his small private island (Tavern Island, off of Rowayton, CT in the Long Island Sound) a beautiful, fun, activity-filled, family-oriented home, meeting his desire to leave whatever property he held far better than when purchased. Al graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 and from the Harvard Business School in 1953. His first investment management company, BEA Associates, was sold to Credit Suisse in 1990 whereupon he founded, with Barrie’s partnership, Zesiger Capital Group LLC. Per Al’s request, there will be no funeral or memorial service. In lieu of flowers or other acknowledgements, Al’s desire is for his family and friends to honor him through living lives of greater fullness, fulfillment and impact.