Eric Lidow

Eric Lidow, the co-founder and former chairman of El Segundo-based technology company International Rectifier. Lidow co-founded International Rectifier with his father in 1947. Lidow served as CEO until 1995, when he became chairman. He retired in 2008. Lidow was born in 1912 in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius, which was then part of Russia. In 1937, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Berlin. Lidow, who was Jewish, studied in Berlin during the rise of the Third Reich in Germany. After retiring, Lidow continued to visit the El Segundo company several times a week, said Khaykin, who would have lunch with him at least half a dozen times a year. In 1952 Eric married the love of his life, Elizabeth. He is survived by three sons, Alan, Derek, and Alex as well as a daughter, Melodie and nine grandchildren. Eric was a proud supporter of Israel, The Technion, The City of Hope, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and countless philanthropic organizations and individuals through the years.