ITT was founded in 1920 by American businessman Sosthenes Benn as “IT and T.” In the 1960s, under the presidency of Harold Jenin, ITT experienced rapid growth through acquisitions and mergers of many companies, quickly transforming into a manufacturing empire. In 1996, the company was renamed “International Telephone Telegraph Industries” (ITT Industries), which it retained for ten years when in 2006 it returned to its original name. The most famous device it produced was the Western Electric 500. Under license, this particular phone model was also manufactured by ITT (International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation) under the name ITT-500AS for office devices and the name ITT-554 AS for wall devices until the end of 2006. In Europe, the American ITT group in 1930 merged the German companies C. Lorenz AG and Standard Elektrik AG, which belonged to its share capital, and Standard Elektrik Lorenz AG (SEL) was created.