Alex Homberger was born in Switzerland and competed at the 1936 Olympics as a Swiss rower. But after earning an engineering degree at the University of Zürich, he emigrated to the United States, settling in Michigan. He worked for the Michigan Steele Company in Muskegon, Michigan in the 1940s and later settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he started the International Automation Corporation. He later married Jean Corfield Hannan, and they returned to the White Lake, Michigan area (near Muskegon). Strong supporters of the arts, after her death in 1997, their children established the Jean C. Homberger Fund to benefit the arts. A wealthy man from his companies, Alex Homberger also established the Jean C. and Alex H. Homberger Fund which provides scholarships for youths in the Muskegon area, and also benefited the arts and similar institutions, including the Muskegon Community Foundation.