Moore's Ammon Found Murdered in Home
LONG ISLAND, NY—Suffolk County Police have made no arrests in the murder of Theodore R. "Ted" Ammon, non-executive chairman of Moore Corp. Ltd. of Toronto and a key past figure with some of the biggest players in the commercial printing industry.
Ammon was found dead in his East Hampton, NY, home October 22 by a colleague with Chancery Lane Capital—of which Ammon founded and was chairman—when he failed to show up at his midtown Manhattan office. He died of blunt trauma to the head, according to Suffolk County Detective Lt. John Gierasch. While attempted robbery has not been ruled out, nothing was found to be removed from Ammon's home.
An investment banker as opposed to an ink-on-paper man, Ammon nevertheless left his mark in the commercial printing community. During the 1980s he was a partner in the private equity firm of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. of Manhattan. He founded Big Flower/Vertis Holdings in 1992, which grew to a $1.98 billion company. Vertis Inc. ranked fifth on last year's Printing Impressions 400 list of top commercial printers. The Baltimore-based company primarily specializes in advertising inserts, direct mail and publications.
Ammon, who was believed to be worth in excess of $100 million, later founded and chaired Chancery Lane Capital, which last December bought a 20 percent stake in Moore, along with GSC Investors. Robert Burton, former CEO with World Color Press, was installed as CEO of Moore.
"I have known and worked with Ted Ammon for over 12 years and I am stunned and saddened regarding his passing," Burton said in a statement. "Ted was a respected business associate and a close personal friend. I mourn his passing; however, I am grateful for and will fondly remember the time we spent together."
Ammon chaired a number of other boards and made significant contributions. He was on the board of trustees of his alma mater, Bucknell University (class of 1971), and gave the largest single gift in the university's history to establish a scholarship for students. He also issued a challenge to other donors that inspired $52 million in new gifts for endowed scholarships.
A music lover, he was chairman for Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he developed a friendship with artistic director and jazz great Wynton Marsalis.
"The amazing thing about Ted Ammon was, even though he was very successful in the competitive world of business, he managed to face each day with the enthusiasm of a little leaguer on game day," Marsalis said in a statement. "His perspective was extremely optimistic and his demeanor very youthful."