West Chester Man, Longtime Executive at Rohm and Haas and Galápagos Advisors Founder, Dies at 79 

Gustav Franco, of West Chester, a longtime executive at Rohm and Haas, founder of Galápagos Advisors, and veteran, died on July 21 aged 79, writes Gary Miles for the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Franco was born in Ecuador and relocated to the United States as a high school exchange student. He then went into the army and served during the Vietnam War. He joined Rohm and Haas and spent the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s traveling the world as the company’s international business development executive. He established Galápagos in 2003. 

He met his wife, Carol Nagurny, at Temple University. They married in 1969 and had two daughters, Lesya and Sharla, while he was stationed in Brazil. The family later settled in West Chester. 

Read more about Gustav Franco in the Philadelphia Inquirer.