History of ITT

The story of ITT begins with a historic call — for its founders to develop phones.

The original International Telephone & Telegraph was created in 1920 by two brothers named Sosthenes and Hernand Behn who set out to build the first worldwide system of interconnected telephone lines. This was a case of a business catching up with its aspirational name as the company had a small beginning as the Puerto Rico Telephone Company, but grew quickly through strategic acquisitions and the purchase of telephony patents. The result was the creation of a major international provider of telephone switching equipment and telecommunication services.

The next chapter for ITT can best be described as the conglomerate years. From 1960 to 1977, with Harold Geneen at the helm, ITT acquired more than 350 companies — at one time securing deals at the rate of one acquisition per week. The portfolio included well-known businesses such as Sheraton hotels, Avis Rent-a-Car, Hartford Insurance and Continental Baking, the maker of Wonder Bread. Under Geneen's management, ITT grew from a medium-sized business with $760 million in sales to a global corporation with $17 billion in sales.

Following the conglomerate years, Rand Araskog, who served as CEO from 1979 to 1995, embarked on a continuous course of restructuring through strategic divestitures and acquisitions to organize the company into more manageable segments. It culminated in 1995 when ITT split into three separate, independent companies: ITT Corporation, which was focused on the hotel and gaming businesses, ITT Hartford which became a stand-alone insurance operation, and ITT Industries, which started as a collection of manufacturing companies.

One decade later, ITT Corporation had been acquired; ITT Hartford had changed its name; and ITT Industries continued its transformation. Since 1995, under the leadership of Travis Engen, Lou Giuliano and now Steve Loranger, ITT Industries — which changed its name back to ITT Corporation in 2006 — has dedicated itself to creating more livable environments, enabling communications and providing protection and safety.

Today, the company plays an important role in vital markets including water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. Thanks to its talented workforce of nearly 40,000 people, ITT is known for engineering and operational excellence, strong values and leadership, and is building a reputation for product innovation and superior customer satisfaction in each of the markets it serves.