Knudsen, William S.
William S. Knudsen was president of General Motors from 1937 until 1940. He was elected to that position on May 3, 1937. As president of GM, Knudsen had complete responsibility in the administration of all the company's operating divisions and subdivisions, other than those of a strictly financial nature. Recognized as one of the greatest production geniuses of modern times, Knudsen gave the automobile industry its first 1,000,000 car year as an executive at the Ford Motor Company, shortly before joining General Motors.
Knudsen and the 2 Millionth Chevrolet
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1879, Knudsen came to America at the age of 20. He worked in the Seabury shipyard at Morris Heights, New Jersey, and for the Erie Railroad, and then joined the John R. Keim Mills in Buffalo, Kentucky. After considerable shop experience, he was made factory manager of the Keim Mills, which was merged with the Ford Motor Company in 1911.
In 1913 he entered the Ford plant in Detroit and shortly thereafter was placed in charge of Ford assembly plants in the United States. Later he was in charge of production at the Ford Detroit plant. During World War I, he was in charge of Ford boat building activities. In 1919 he installed three European assembly plants for Ford. Knudsen left Ford in 1921 after a disagreement with Henry Ford. Ford later said that letting Knudsen go was one of his biggest regrets but that “he was too big a man for us. There wasn’t room for both him and me at the company.”
Knudsen in Uniform
After leaving Ford, Knudsen briefly joined the Ireland & Matthews Company of Detroit. Then in 1922, he joined General Motors in an advisory capacity and soon afterward was made vice-president of Chevrolet, in charge of operations.
On January 15, 1921, Knudsen was elected president and general manager of Chevrolet. As such he was made a vice-president of the corporation and director of General Motors. He served as general manager of the Chevrolet Motor Division for ten years and helped to guide the marque to its position a top the automobile industry, even out stripping the production levels set by his former employer Ford. After his tenure at Chevrolet, he served four years as executive vice-president in charge of all car, truck, body and accessory operations. He was appointed executive vice-president of General Motors on October, 16, 1933, and became a member of the Executive Committee.
On May 3, 1937, he was elected president of the corporation, succeeding Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., who was named chairman of the board of directors. During his brief tenure as president, Knudsen helped to guide General Motors through a period of intense labor unrest.
Knudsen was granted a leave of absence by the Board of Directors of General Motors on June 6, 1940, and resigned Sept. 3, 1940, in order that he might accept an invitation from President Roosevelt to direct industrial production in the National Defense Program of World War II.
After finishing his duties at end of World War II, Knudsen returned to the GM Board of Directors. Knudesen retired from the service in 1945 with the rank of lieutenant general and was recipient of the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal. He died less than three years later on April 27, 1948.
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