Smale, John G.
John G. Smale served as Chairman of the Board for the General Motors Corporation from November 2, 1992 until December 31, 1995. He was the first non-General Motors executive to hold this position since Lammot du Pont resigned the post in 1937. During his brief tenure, he helped to turnaround a company that had been struggling since the beginning of the 1980s.
Smale joined the GM board of directors in 1982. At the time, he was president and chief executive officer of Proctor & Gamble. In 1986, he was named chairman of the board of that company, a post he held until his retirement in 1990. He continued to serve on the boards of several companies after his retirement including that of General Motors.
The directors of General Motors were looking for a drastic change in November 1992. The company’s financial performance was not turning around fast enough. A major change was necessary and Robert Stempel ended up being the casualty of the board’s actions.
Stempel was replaced as the top executive of the corporation. His duties were split between two men because the board believed that in the current economic climate, no one man could have succeeded at the combined job.. The board designated John F. "Jack" Smith, Jr. as chief executive officer and John Smale chairman.
Under the duel leadership of Smale and Smith, the financial position of General Motors made a remarkable change for the better. The corporation posted record profits of $4.9 billion on sales of $154.9 billion in 1994.
Smale was instrumental in reforming the management structure of General Motors. He upgraded management systems by focusing attention on customers in both car design and sales. He hired an executive to act as marketing czar and pushed for strong brand management. He also promoted more efficient production methods. Smale directed GM towards a strong, unified corporate vision and a strategy.
In 1995, GM’s board of director’s was satisfied enough with the company’s turnaround to agree to John Smale’s request for lesser responsibilities. Smale retired as chairman at the end of that year and Jack Smith succeeded him on January 1, 1996. Smale continued to serve on the GM board until 2002.
Tag Cloud
 |
English |