[2] Goergen earned a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Rochester in 1960, where he was also initiated into the Beta Phi Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon.
He began his career at Procter & Gamble before moving onto other firms, including McCann-Erickson, McKinsey & Co. and the venture capital group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Goergen's philanthropy efforts are prolific, including several large donations to the University of Rochester, where the main athletics center and joint biomedical engineering and optics building bear his name, and to the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, with an endowment for a faculty chair and an entrepreneurial management program.
After taking a summer job researching the field of airborne radioactivity, Goergen realized he wanted to change his career path.
[1] After serving in the Army Reserve, Goergen joined The McCann-Erickson advertising agency.
In 1979, while still at DLJ, Goergen, his attorney, and two other investors each invested $25,000 in a Brooklyn-based candle company.
As CEO, Goergen expanded the business, adding new product lines and acquiring other home accessories companies.
[6] In 2015, Goergen and his wife, Pamela, committed $11 million to the Rochester Institute for Data Science.