Oscar Lasko, former chairman of home comfort appliance manufacturer and marketer Lasko Products, died on April 2. He was 96.
In 1945, Lasko joined the home comfort business founded in 1906 by his father, Henry. Oscar Lasko became president of Lasko Products in 1982 and chairman in 2000 before retiring in 2016 following the sale of Lasko to Comvest Partners and JW Levin Management Partners.
Lasko became the largest home comfort appliance company in the U.S. under the leadership of Oscar Lasko. He lead a dramatic expansion of the company’s U.S. manufacturing base by opening facilities in West Chester, PA, Franklin, TN, Columbia, PA and Fort Worth TX. The company now designs, makes and markets a wide range of Lasko-branded home comfort products, including portable fans, heaters, humidifiers and air cleaners. The company also makes and distributes ventilation products under the Air King brand.
“Oscar was an exceptional visionary in home comfort that was always focused on providing the highest quality and value to the consumer. He treated all 1,000 plus associates as if they were his family,” said Ed McAssey, chief operating officer of Lasko Products. “His incredible generosity to the communities we operated in was legendary.”
Oskar Lasko earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and served in the Merchant Marines during World War II before joining the company.
Lasko was an active philanthropist. The Oscar Lasko YMCA and Childcare Center in West Chester, PA, bears his name. Lasko funded the Lasko Tower at the Chester County Hospital. He also formed the Lasko Family Foundation, which supports various Jewish charities and general vocational training in the Philadelphia area. Lasko received the 2014 Chester County Hall of Fame Award from the Chester County Economic Development Council.
