Investment banking Upon leaving the Navy after the war, Black joined the New York investment firm of
Harris, Forbes & Co. He worked as a traveling salesperson for the firm, selling
bonds and meeting with bankers and investors.
Additional posts From 1962 to 1968, Black was chairman of the
Brookings Institution. In 1963, the United States was considering pursuing a program to create a
supersonic transport (SST) to rival the British and French
Concorde. President
Kennedy commissioned an outside review of the feasibility of a federally funded SST program. Black and Stanley Osborne, chairman of
Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, led the commission. The review was completed in December 1963 and given to President
Lyndon B. Johnson. The report recommended not pursuing a race against the Concorde and instead focusing the effort initially on building a test aircraft for research.
President Johnson selected Black in 1966 to be Special Adviser to the President on Southeast Asian Social and Economic Development. In this position, Black was charged with organizing and establishing the
Asian Development Bank. This was a task that Black was initially quite hesitant to undertake, but Johnson would not take no for an answer. To President Johnson, the creation of the ADB was an important step in securing Asian support for, or at least acquiescence to, the
War in Vietnam. Black also served on a number of boards for corporations and foundations. The University of Georgia Foundation named a fellowship in honor of him and his achievements.
Princeton University awarded him an honorary
Doctor of Laws degree in 1960. Black was Chair of the
Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1967 to 1977. ==Personal life==