Lee Iacocca

By name of LIDO ANTHONY IACOCCA (b. Oct. 15, 1924, Allentown, Pa., U.S.), American automobile
executive, who as president and chairman of the board of the foundering Chrysler Corporation, secured
the largest amount of federal financial assistance ever given to a private corporation at that time.

The son of an Italian immigrant, Iacocca graduated from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., in 1945
and received a master's degree in engineering from Princeton University in 1946. Hired as an engineer
by the Ford Motor Company, he quickly proved that he was better suited for sales. By 1960 he had
become general manager of the Ford division and a vice-president of the company. Iacocca's increasing
influence at Ford was hastened by his successful promotion of the sporty yet inexpensive Mustang. He
was named president of Ford in 1970, but his brash, unorthodox manner led to his dismissal in 1978.

The following year Iacocca was hired by the Chrysler Corporation, which, having accumulated a huge
inventory of low-mileage cars at a time of rising fuel prices, faced bankruptcy. Iacocca appealed to the
federal government for aid, gambling that it would not allow Chrysler to fail when the national economy
was already depressed. Although his request sparked intense debate over the role of government in a
market economy, Congress in 1980 agreed to guarantee $1,500,000,000 in loans if the company could
raise another $2,000,000,000 on its own. Iacocca responded by finding new sources of credit and by
trimming operations, closing plants, and persuading labour unions to accept layoffs and wage cuts. He
then shifted the company's emphasis to fuel-efficient models and undertook an aggressive advertising
campaign that included personal appearances on television commercials. By 1981 Chrysler showed a
small profit, and three years later it announced record profits of more than $2,400,000,000. Iacocca
became a national celebrity. His autobiography, Iacocca (1984), and a second book, Talking Straight
(1988), were best-sellers. Iacocca retired as Chrysler's chief executive in 1992.

Some quotations:

"The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family."

"My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, you've had a great life."

"No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love
and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished."