Polls at the time confirmed that he had a realistic chance of winning.[2]. [41] He died on July 2, 2019, at his home in Bel Air, at the age of 94. He also served as director of Lehighs Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry. Adding to her list of accomplishments, she is also a founding member of the residential development company Kacoon Development Inc. Lia & Kathryn Iacocca, Lees Children: The Automobile Executive Had 2 Daughters, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Henry Ford II for reasons Ford never revealed. And, through his vision for the, , Lee made it possible for the world to come to Lehigh and for our students to have life-changing educational experiences that prepare them to thriveon the world stage. Iacocca, Lee. Among his closest friends at Lehigh was international business expert Dick Brandt, who led Lehighs Iacocca Institute. With the K-Cars and minivans, and reforms that Iacocca implemented, the company turned around quickly and repaid the government-backed loans 7 years earlier than expected. At the time of their engagement, Hentz was writing for Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne, and Kathryn already held her title as President of her familys charity. The site also promotes his book Where Have All the Leaders Gone. [9] This case is a staple of engineering ethics courses as an example of a bad costbenefit analysis. He is survived by his daughters, Lia Iacocca Assad and Kathryn Iacocca Hentz. Bethlehem, PA 18015 In Spring 2015, Lehigh announced that 43 donors responded to Iacoccas challenge to match the $5 million endowment grant, and collectively doubled the fund that will ensure opportunities of real-world global learning for students in perpetuity. Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca attends the unveiling of the new Mercedes-Benz Maybach 57S at Mercedes Benz of Beverly Hills on October 18, 2005. 1988 presidential preferences showed that the cocky industrialist Iacocca was a loyal and active Lehigh alumnus. When Iacocca retired from Chrysler in 1992, the firm's profits were up and thousands of American manufacturing jobs were secure. Time Her experience prompted Iacocca to devote much of his own life to supporting diabetes research. Abodaher, David. Standing Up for America: A Biography of Lee Iacocca. Lehigh lost not only a great man but a great friend as well, said Lehigh President John D. Simon 19P. Released in the middle of the 198082 recession, the small, efficient, and inexpensive front-wheel drive cars sold rapidly. Mary died of diabetes (a blood disorder) in 1983, and in When Im dead, they may screw up, but theyll still be able to lead a good life.. Iacocca became a national celebrity. They are in the Packard Motor Car Company's first car, the Ohio Model A, made by the company founded by James Packard 1884. [13][14] Iacocca joined Chrysler and began rebuilding the entire company from the ground up and bringing in many former associates from Ford. Iacocca also worked with Kirk Kerkorian on an attempted hostile takeover of Chrysler in the mid-1990s. He was then able to devote more time to the Iacocca Family Foundation, a charity that supports diabetes research (Iacocca's first wife, Mary, suffered from diabetes and died from complications related to the disease). Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He also convinced thencompany president Henry Ford II to return to racing, resulting in wins at the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He then received a master's degree in engineering from Princeton University. TMZ was the first to break the news, saying that their source was a family member who did not give further details regarding his cause of death. Also from Ford, Iacocca brought to Chrysler the "Mini-Max" project, which, in 1983, bore fruit in the highly successful Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. [32] In 1998, he stepped up to serve as acting chairman of the troubled company, and led it through a merger with Family Restaurants (owner of Chi-Chi's and El Torito). that it unlawfully blocked him from exercising $42 million in share He married Peggy Johnson in 1986, but the marriage lasted only a year. He attended Lehigh University in neighboring Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering. He even made an appearance on the popular 1980s TV show Miami Vice. According to the Iacocca Family Foundations website, Kathryn (whose married name is Hentz), is the current President of the foundation; her father was Chairman of the Board. After a thirty-two year career with Ford Motor Company, including eight However, underneath remarkably similar-looking sheetmetal, engines, transmissions, suspensions, bumpers, and interior design were quite different. He was 94. Two later marriages, to advertising executive Peggy Johnson (1986) and restaurateur Darrien Earle (1990), ended in divorce. In 1988, Iacocca co-authored (with Sonny Kleinfeld) Talking Straight,[23] a book meant as a counterbalance to Akio Morita's Made in Japan, a non-fiction book praising Japan's post-war hard-working culture. His dedication to Lehigh was unwavering throughout the years. Part of enjoying life is giving back. In 1984, Iacocca co-authored (with William Novak) an autobiography, titled Iacocca: An Autobiography. Previous Table of Contents Next This site uses cookies. This summers Iacocca Institute programscurrently in progress on the Lehigh campusinvolve 150 participants from 62 countries. Iacocca: An Autobiography. But Chrysler has been in trouble before, and we got through it, and I believe they can do it again. However after 19 monhts of marriage he had it annulled. Four years later in 1994, the two divorced. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. To avoid system errors, if Chrome is your preferred browser, please update to the latest version of Chrome (81 or higher) or use an alternative browser. While Iacocca gained Although Ford's European subsidiary was already selling such a model (the Ford Escort), a team of Ford designers was assigned to create the exterior and interior of an entirely new car, which would be named Pinto. Throughout the 1980s, Iacocca, with the help of his longtime friend and advertisement executive, Leo-Arthur Kelmenson, appeared in a series of commercials developed by Kenyon & Eckhardt for the company's vehicles, employing the ad campaign, "The pride is back," to denote the turnaround of the corporation. In the 2004 presidential election, however, he endorsed Bush's opponent, Democrat John Kerry. According to Lehigh University, for which Lia became a member of the Board of Trustees in 2016, she has been married to Victor for 27 years. By the mid-1980s Iacocca had achieved folk-hero status. Iacocca died last week at his home in Bel Air, California. Under Iacocca's leadership, Chrysler received $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees; at the time, it was the largest amount of government assistance that a private company had ever received. In addition, Chrysler New York: Macmillan, 1982. In 2010, Iacocca was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by Lehighs Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Members of his family operated a restaurant, Yocco's Hot Dogs, which continues to operate four store locations in Allentown and its suburbs. Born Lido Anthony Iacocca, the child of Italian immigrants grew up in humble conditions, however, he became one of the most powerful and best known executives in Detroit. Wives He was first married to Mary McCleary from 1956 until her passing in 1983. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. loud and polluting vehicles in crowded urban areas. As a challenge grant, the gift matched funds raised from other alumni and donors for a potential total funding of $10 million. In 1986, Iacocca was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering in 1986, one of the highest honors accorded to an engineer. (323) 377-4312 (m) Lido Anthony Iacocca, generally known as Lee Iacocca, was born to Italian immigrants Nicola and Antonietta in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 15, 1924. The secret is to live long and enjoy life. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. to a much lower break-even point; by winning approval of $1.5 billion in Iacocca agreed to return to Chrysler in 2005 to appear in a few new television commercials. In 1983 the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans were introduced, a new type of family vehicle that led the automobile industry in sales for 25 years. Two books written by Iacocca, his 1984 autobiography Iacocca and Talking Straight (1988), became best-sellers. fast pace of sales. The 2009 film Watchmen, which is set in an alternative history 1985, took this in a unique direction by showing Iacocca (portrayed by Walter Addison) being assassinated by the film's antagonists, which has been said to have angered Iacocca when he learned about it. Iacocca and Mary McCleary were married in 1956 and had two daughters, Kathi and Lia. [24], On April 17, 2007, Simon & Schuster published Iacocca's book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, co-written with Catherine Whitney. During the war, he attended Lehigh University as an undergraduate. Click here to login if you're an NAE Member. Iacocca's image was also invoked by rival automaker Ford in the marketing campaign for the 1993 Mercury Villager minivan, which depicted a competing car company led by an unhappy boss with a physical resemblance to Iacocca viewing the Villager with consternation because it is outselling their minivan. because of his childhood battle with rheumatic fever, a terrible Her husband is Ned Carlton Hentz. In the past, she wrote for Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne. As assistant sales manager in the Philadelphia district, he gained national recognition with his 56 for 56 campaign, offering loans on 1956 model year cars with a 20 percent down payment and $56 in monthly payments for 3 years. They had two daughters. The idea was so successful that the president of Ford decided to use it in national ad campaigns. Created iconic Mustang, brilliantly saved Chrysler in early 1980s and dynamically led effort to restore Statue . The guarantee required Chrysler to reduce costs and abandon some long-standing projects, such as the turbine engine, which was ready for consumer production after nearly 20 years of development. Although his request sparked intense debate over the role of government in a market economy, Congress in 1980 agreed to guarantee $1.5 billion in loans if the company could raise another $2 billion on its own. for several of those years. New York: Bantam Books, 1984. Iacocca's first task was to raise money to fund new projects for the failing company. His success, [2] The book used heavy discounting which would become a trend among publishers in the 1980s. After graduating with honors from Allentown High School in 1942, he attended Lehigh University and got his degree in industrial engineering in 3 years. American auto executive Lee Iacocca became a national celebrity for steering the Chrysler Corporation away from bankruptcy toward record profits in the 1980s. In 1991 he said I Do, for the third time to Darrien Earle. On December 3, 2007, Iacocca launched a website to encourage open dialogue about the challenges of contemporary society. President's Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Centennial Commission, Pam Baker Cocker: Singer Joe Cockers Wife, Melinda Trucks Allman Brothers Butch Trucks Wife, Armstead Edwards: Patti LaBelles Ex- Husband, Dimitri Rassam 5 Facts About Charlotte Casiraghis Husband. In a manner similar to Ronald Reagan, period pieces produced in subsequent decades have used images of Iacocca and the Chrysler K-car to invoke the 1980s. Lee Iacocca, byname of Lido Anthony Iacocca, (born October 15, 1924, Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.died July 2, 2019, Bel Air, California), American automobile executive who was president (1978-92) and chairman of the board (1979-92) of Chrysler Corporation, credited with reviving the foundering company. 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