Dini cecil pickering biography
Owner of The Biltmore Company dies at 89
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, owner of The Biltmore Company, died on Tuesday at his home in Asheville. He was 89 years old.
A private funeral for family, friends and close associates will be held on Friday, November 3 at 11 a.m. at All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village, followed by a private family burial. A reception will follow at 2 to 5 p.m. at Deerpark on Biltmore Estate.
“My father’s legacy is immeasurable for our family,” said Bill Cecil, Jr., Mr. Cecil’s son and president & CEO of The Biltmore Company. “He will always be remembered for his leadership, vision and dedication to Biltmore. He had the foresight to do what everyone thought was impossible. He spent many years in devotion to the preservation of Biltmore, determined to make the estate self-supporting by developing its appeal for tourism.”
After graduating from Harvard, Mr. Cecil had a successful career in finance in New York and Washington, D.C. with Chase Manhattan Bank. In 1960, he returned to Asheville in hopes of preserving his childhood home. Biltmore is the private estate of the late George Washington Vanderbilt III, Mr. Cecil’s grandfather.
In 1963, his dedication to the cause was rewarded when Biltmore was designated a National Historic Landmark.
“Biltmore was always very close to his heart,” said Dini Pickering, Mr. Cecil’s daughter and president of the Family Office & vice chair of the Board of Directors. “He dedicated his life to ensuring that Biltmore would continue to be a treasure for future generations. He was very proud of his family and to see them carrying out his legacy gave him great joy.”
Mr. Cecil retired from the daily management of the company in 1995. But until his death, he served as chairman on the Board of Directors of The Biltmore Company.
He was a passionate advocate for North Carolina business and tourism. Career highlights include serving as the president of the Asheville Area Chamber of
Austin Allen documents cultural landscapes in thoughtful and creative ways. Recent work includes Site of the Unseen: The Racial Gaming of American Landscapes, in Black Landscapes Matter, edited by Walter Hood and Grace Mitchell Tada, and the documentary, Claiming Open Spaces. Allen is Interim Associate Dean for the College of Architecture Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Texas Arlington, and holds a PhD and MA, CPB Fellow, from Ohio University as well as a BA in Landscape Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and an AA in Urban Studies from Laney Community College, Oakland. Allen received the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design Distinguished Alumnus Award in March 2017. He is a principal in the landscape architecture firm, Design Jones LLC. He also served on the Olmsted 200 Honorary Committee.
Adrian Benepe, President and CEO of Brooklyn Botanic Garden (an Olmsted Brothers landscape), is one of the nation’s foremost experts in parks and open green spaces. As senior VP and director of national programs at the Trust for Public Land, Benepe led efforts to ensure that every city resident has a high-quality park within a 10-minute walk of home. He worked for NYC Parks & Recreation for 27 years, including 11 years as Commissioner, and served in senior roles at the Municipal Art Society and the New York Botanical Garden. Adrian was the recipient of the 2022 Olmsted Network President’s Award and a member of the Olmsted 200 Honorary Committee.
Eugénie L. Birch FAICP, FAcSS, RTPI (hon), is the Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research, Department of City and Regional Planning, and Graduate Dean, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania. She is the founding co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research, dedicated to integrative research and instruction in sustainable urban development. She is co-editor, University of Pennsylvania Press’s City in the 21st Century series and co-editor, SSRN Urban Researc
Olmsted and Friends: Meet Diana Cecil Pickering
As an Olmsted 200 Honorary Committee member, Diana “Dini” Cecil Pickering represents the fourth generation of the Vanderbilt family at Biltmore. Her great grandfather George Vanderbilt commissioned the now-iconic family estate in Asheville, North Carolina, seeing to it that landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the grounds.
“I grew up knowing about the significant collaboration between George Vanderbilt, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Richard Morris Hunt, who created Biltmore,” said Dini. “Their legacies live on in our family and business, and we are forever grateful for their lasting contributions to our country.”
While Olmsted’s work at Biltmore was significant, Dini feels that the grounds often attract less attention than the estate’s impressive structures. This presents her with the opportunity to educate guests on FLO’s landscape and legacy, particularly during the Olmsted 200 celebration.
In honor of Olmsted’s 200th birthday, Biltmore has created a series of interpretive signs for the scenic locations across the historic gardens and grounds. To learn more about these scenic stops, see the video above or visit our calendar here.
Dini recently joined Olmsted 200 in New York City for the National Association for Olmsted Parks’ Olmsted Birthday Gala. Thanks to her generosity, guests toasted Olmsted on his 200 with Biltmore Estate®Blanc de Noir, grown at Biltmore, Olmsted’s last project. Dini also attended the Inspired by Olmsted concert at Riverside Church, which featured carillon compositions dedicated to Biltmore. After the event, she had the rare opportunity to test-drive the carillon herself.
William A. V. Cecil
American businessman (1928–2017)
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (August 17, 1928 – October 31, 2017) was a British-–American businessman. He was the owner of the Biltmore Estate through his company, The Biltmore Company.
Biography
William A. V. Cecil was the younger son of Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900–1976) and English-born aristocrat John Francis Amherst Cecil (1890–1954). He was the grandson of George Washington Vanderbilt II and Lord William Cecil, the great-grandson of William Henry Vanderbilt and William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter. His maternal great-great grandfather was railroad and steamship baron, "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. His mother left the family back at the Biltmore Estate in 1932, later divorcing her husband in 1934. Cecil and his older brother were educated in England and Switzerland while his father managed the estate. He served in the British Navy near the end of World War II.
He left England in 1949 to attend Harvard University, graduating in 1952 ahead of his class. Later, he worked in finance in New York City, where he met his future wife, Mary Lee Ryan.
Upon the death of his mother, he inherited the Biltmore Estate once his elder brother, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, chose to take charge of the family dairy (known as Biltmore Farms) which was much more profitable at the time. He successfully transformed Biltmore into a popular North Carolina tourist attraction and built a profitable winery on the grounds.
Personal life
Cecil married Mary Lee Ryan, known as "Mimi", in 1957 in New York City. She was a maternal first cousin of First Lady of the United StatesJacqueline Kennedy Onassis, both being granddaughters of James T. Lee.
Cecil and his wife had two children:
- William A.V. Cecil, married Virginia Cecil and had issue. He serves as President and CEO of The Biltmore Company today. His wife Virginia overse
- She graduated Phi Beta