Jerome W. Van Gorkom

Jerome William Van Gorkom (August 6, 1917 – March 17, 1998) was a United States businessman who was U.S. Under Secretary of State for Management 1982–83. He was the CEO of TransUnion for eighteen years. Van Gorkom is probably best known as the named defendant in the landmark corporate law case of Smith v. Van Gorkom, 488 A.2d 858 (Supreme Court of Delaware 1985), which involved the merger of TransUnion with the Marmon Group in 1980.

Biography Jerome W. Van Gorkom was born in Denver, Colorado. He was educated at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, receiving a Bachelor of Science in 1939. He then attended the University of Illinois College of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor in 1941. He later was TransUnion's chief executive officer from 1962 to 1980.

In January 1980, Van Gorkom became president of the Chicago School Finance Authority, a body newly created by the Government of Illinois to turn around the Chicago Public Schools, which were running a $94 million annual operating deficit. Van Gorkom, previously a well-liked member of the Chicago business community, was criticized in some quarters for his performance in negotiating the merger of TransUnion. Van Gorkom died in Lake Forest on March 17, 1998, at the age of 80. He was survived by his wife, Betty Jean (Alexander) Van Gorkom, and two daughters, Gayle (Van Gorkom) Richardson and Lynne (Van Gorkom) Villalobos. He has 9 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.