Yale

Edgar M. Cullman made impressive contributions to the premium cigar industry, the University, and the medical community. As a Yale undergraduate he participated in football and in track and field. He served as a business analyst in the foreign funds section of the U.S. Treasury during World War II. In 1945 he joined Cullman Bros, Inc., achieving partnership in the firm a year later. Cullman was responsible for the growing, packing, and selling of premium shade-grown Connecticut Valley cigar wrapper, as well as the firm’s wrapper buying and packing interests in Florida.

In 1961, Cullman led a group purchasing control of General Cigar. He held the positions of president, CEO, or board chairman of that firm until 2005, when the Cullman interest in General Cigars was acquired by Swedish Match AB. Cullman has also served as a director in the financial, insurance, transportation, and development industries.

In 1967, Cullman was elected to the Yale Development Board, and in 1968 was elected to its executive committee. He served for decades as a trustee and then treasurer of the Mount Sinai Medical Center and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. A member of the U.S. Business Committee on Jamaica, Cullman is one of the only two Americans to be honored by the government of Jamaica as a Commander of Distinction.