Casper Star Tribune
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 7:31 AM MDT
CASPER -- A private family service for Archie R. McCardell, 81, will be held at Alcova.
He died on July 11, 2008, at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper surrounded by family.
He was born on August 29, 1926, in Hazel Park, Mich.He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps at age 18.
Upon his discharge, he enrolled at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration in 1948 and 1949, respectively.
He met Margaret Edith Martin at the University of Michigan in 1949. They were married in 1950.She was an indispensable part of his long and successful career.
He then joined the Ford Motor Company as a financial analyst.
After leaving his post as Director of Finance for Ford Germany in 1966, he returned to the U.S. and worked for Xerox Corporation, where he was appointed president and chief operating officer in 1971.
At Xerox, he pioneered the company's innovative Social Service Leave Program, which for the first time granted paid leave to employees wishing to volunteer in their communities.
In 1977, he moved to Chicago and worked at International Harvester, where he became chief executive officer in 1978, and chairman in 1979.
He served on the board of directors of the American Express Company, Honeywell Inc., and the General Foods Corporation, and as a trustee of the University of Chicago, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Orchestral Association of Chicago, the Business Council, the Conference Board, and the Business Roundtable.
He was a member of the Advisory Council of the Stanford University School of Business.
He retired in 1984.
He went into business with his wife and children and divided his time between Fairfield, Conn., and Savannah, Ga., before moving to Casper in 1998.
He was respected and admired by all who knew him. His commanding presence, as well as his intelligence and wisdom and unfailing kindness, honesty, grace and humor were always an example to everyone who was privileged to have spent time with him. Despite his long and successful career, he never lost touch with his roots and found the most pleasure in the simple things in life, and in spending time with his family.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Margaret, and children Sandy and Clay McCardell and Laurie McCardell-Patton.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be sent to the Steven M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, 7001 Tappan Street, Rm. 3700, Wyly Hall, Ann Arbor MI 48109-1234.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Headed Harvester during bitter strike: 172-day work stoppage in 1979 was punishing to company that started in Chicago, became Navistar
July 15, 2008
By Trevor Jensen Chicago Tribune reporter
Chicago Tribune
Archie R. McCardell was in charge at International Harvester during a 172-day strike by United Auto Workers that began in 1979 and dealt a punishing financial blow to the company.
Mr. McCardell, 81, died of complications from heart failure on Friday, July 11, in a Casper, Wyo., hospital, said his grandson, Scott Arcenas. He lived in Wyoming since 1998.
Previously president and chief operating officer at Xerox, Mr. McCardell joined International Harvester in 1977. The venerable Chicago firm's roots reach back to Cyrus McCormick's reaper—Mr. McCardell took over from family heir Brooks McCormick, who recruited him.
He started as president and was named chief executive officer a few months later, focusing on cost-cutting and efficiencies. His compensation package was eye-opening for the time—a reported $1.5 million signing bonus and a $450,000 annual salary. In 1979, Mr. McCardell's second year on the job, International Harvester posted record earnings of nearly $400 million.
But simmering labor issues erupted on Nov. 1, 1979, when 35,000 company employees represented by the United Auto Workers walked out. A settlement wasn't reached until the following April.
The strike cost the company millions of dollars and along with a recession led to a downward spiral that resulted in units being sold. In 1986, what was left of the once mighty firm took the name Navistar.
The strike was the backdrop for a public relations fiasco when it was learned that in August 1980, the company forgave a $1.8 million loan to Mr. McCardell because certain financial goals had been reached.
Amid mounting losses, Mr. McCardell resigned from International Harvester in May 1982 at the request of company directors.
Mr. McCardell was a Michigan native and served in the Army Air Corps before receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees in business from the University of Michigan.
He worked at Ford Motor Co. for many years, including a stint as director of finance in Germany, before joining Xerox in 1966. There, he helped initiate a program that offered paid leave to employees that wanted to volunteer in their communities.
After leaving International Harvester, Mr. McCardell and his family led the development of the land around his Connecticut home, the former Pepperidge Farm estate.
Mr. McCardell is also survived by his wife, Margaret; a son, Clay; two daughters, Sandra and Laurie; two brothers, Allan and Arnold; a sister, JoAnne Iwanicki; and four other grandchildren.
By Trevor Jensen Chicago Tribune reporter
Chicago Tribune
Archie R. McCardell was in charge at International Harvester during a 172-day strike by United Auto Workers that began in 1979 and dealt a punishing financial blow to the company.
Mr. McCardell, 81, died of complications from heart failure on Friday, July 11, in a Casper, Wyo., hospital, said his grandson, Scott Arcenas. He lived in Wyoming since 1998.
Previously president and chief operating officer at Xerox, Mr. McCardell joined International Harvester in 1977. The venerable Chicago firm's roots reach back to Cyrus McCormick's reaper—Mr. McCardell took over from family heir Brooks McCormick, who recruited him.
He started as president and was named chief executive officer a few months later, focusing on cost-cutting and efficiencies. His compensation package was eye-opening for the time—a reported $1.5 million signing bonus and a $450,000 annual salary. In 1979, Mr. McCardell's second year on the job, International Harvester posted record earnings of nearly $400 million.
But simmering labor issues erupted on Nov. 1, 1979, when 35,000 company employees represented by the United Auto Workers walked out. A settlement wasn't reached until the following April.
The strike cost the company millions of dollars and along with a recession led to a downward spiral that resulted in units being sold. In 1986, what was left of the once mighty firm took the name Navistar.
The strike was the backdrop for a public relations fiasco when it was learned that in August 1980, the company forgave a $1.8 million loan to Mr. McCardell because certain financial goals had been reached.
Amid mounting losses, Mr. McCardell resigned from International Harvester in May 1982 at the request of company directors.
Mr. McCardell was a Michigan native and served in the Army Air Corps before receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees in business from the University of Michigan.
He worked at Ford Motor Co. for many years, including a stint as director of finance in Germany, before joining Xerox in 1966. There, he helped initiate a program that offered paid leave to employees that wanted to volunteer in their communities.
After leaving International Harvester, Mr. McCardell and his family led the development of the land around his Connecticut home, the former Pepperidge Farm estate.
Mr. McCardell is also survived by his wife, Margaret; a son, Clay; two daughters, Sandra and Laurie; two brothers, Allan and Arnold; a sister, JoAnne Iwanicki; and four other grandchildren.
Archie McCardell, Harvester Chief Who Clashed With Union, Dies at 81
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: July 16, 2008
The New York Times
Archie R. McCardell, whose gruff, bottom-line approach as the new chief of the International Harvester Company in the late 1970s drew praise from Wall Street but the enmity of labor, culminating in a bitter five-and-a-half-month strike, died Friday in Casper, Wyo., where he lived. He was 81.
The cause was complications of heart failure, said his grandson, Scott Arcenas.
Mr. McCardell knew success early, as senior class president in high school and the first in his family to attend college. After earning an M.B.A., he rose to director of finance for the Ford Motor Company in Germany, then moved to Xerox, where he was promoted to president.
He joined Harvester, based in Chicago, in August 1977 as president and chief operating officer, explaining that he thought he would have a better chance of being the top executive there than at Xerox. He became chief executive the following January and chairman in June 1979.
Upon his arrival Mr. McCardell began an aggressive program to cut costs and engineered a profit increase in his first year, to $370 million from $203.7 million.
But Harvester’s margins were only a little more than half those of its competitors Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Company. This had resulted in part from past concessions to labor and a tradition of paying out most earnings as dividends rather than reinvesting them.
When the United Auto Workers contract expired on Nov. 1, 1979, Mr. McCardell saw an opportunity to improve efficiency by persuading the union to give up rights it had won in past negotiations, particularly on overtime.
The union went on strike for nearly six months and eventually retained most of the work rights Mr. McCardell had sought to take away. Harvester had lost $479.4 million during the strike and $397.3 million in its 1980 fiscal year.
Union members complained that Mr. McCardell and his lieutenants only heightened tensions by acting arrogant and aloof during the strike, in one instance, they said, sending armed guards to watch dismissed workers clean out their lockers, The New York Times reported in 1982.
Another flash point was Mr. McCardell’s compensation package, which included a $1.5 million signing bonus and a $450,000 annual salary — astronomical figures for executive compensation then but modest ones by today’s standards. Workers as well as shareholders were also furious when the company forgave a $1.8 million loan to Mr. McCardell.
The labor problems only added to the company’s woes. Climbing interest rates, weak markets and high-cost plants had helped push Harvester’s debt to $4.5 billion. Only through an agreement with 200 lenders in 1981 did Harvester escape bankruptcy.
Mr. McCardell resigned in May 1982, although Time magazine and other publications suggested that his departure was really a firing. “The real wonder was that McCardell had not been ousted much earlier,” Time said.
International Harvester did not recover, and in 1985 it sold its farm equipment division, which had started with Cyrus McCormick’s reaper factory. Its crimson tractors and combines had long been a familiar feature of the American heartland. The remainder of the company, its truck and engines division, became the Navistar International Corporation in 1986.
Archie Richard McCardell was born in Hazel Park, Mich., on Aug. 29, 1926. He served in the Army Air Forces, then used the G.I. Bill to earn undergraduate and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Michigan. He joined Ford as a financial analyst. In 1960, he was appointed secretary-treasurer of Ford of Australia, and three years later became director of finance for Ford of Germany.
In 1966, he joined Xerox as group vice president for corporate services, rising to president in 1971. At Xerox, he helped set up a program for employees to get paid leave in order to serve their communities.
His ability to cut costs and shepherd technological innovation attracted the attention of Booz Allen Hamilton, which was helping revamp Harvester. Booz Allen recruited him for the Harvester job.
Mr. McCardell later worked in real estate development, scuba-diving expeditions and other business ventures.
He is survived by his wife, the former Margaret Edith Martin; three children, Sandra, Laurie and Clay, all of whom have the last name McCardell and all of whom live in Casper; two brothers, Allan, of Milford, Mich., and Arnold, of Perry, Mich.; one sister, JoAnne Iwanicki, of Warren, Mich.; and four grandchildren in addition to Mr. Arcenas.
Six months after Mr. McCardell left Harvester, he spoke to a group at Harvard Business School. He said he had two regrets: the controversial nature of his compensation deal, and not getting to know union people better before the strike.
Asked to grade himself, Mr. McCardell nonetheless replied, “I think I rate myself superb.”
Published: July 16, 2008
The New York Times
Archie R. McCardell, whose gruff, bottom-line approach as the new chief of the International Harvester Company in the late 1970s drew praise from Wall Street but the enmity of labor, culminating in a bitter five-and-a-half-month strike, died Friday in Casper, Wyo., where he lived. He was 81.
The cause was complications of heart failure, said his grandson, Scott Arcenas.
Mr. McCardell knew success early, as senior class president in high school and the first in his family to attend college. After earning an M.B.A., he rose to director of finance for the Ford Motor Company in Germany, then moved to Xerox, where he was promoted to president.
He joined Harvester, based in Chicago, in August 1977 as president and chief operating officer, explaining that he thought he would have a better chance of being the top executive there than at Xerox. He became chief executive the following January and chairman in June 1979.
Upon his arrival Mr. McCardell began an aggressive program to cut costs and engineered a profit increase in his first year, to $370 million from $203.7 million.
But Harvester’s margins were only a little more than half those of its competitors Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Company. This had resulted in part from past concessions to labor and a tradition of paying out most earnings as dividends rather than reinvesting them.
When the United Auto Workers contract expired on Nov. 1, 1979, Mr. McCardell saw an opportunity to improve efficiency by persuading the union to give up rights it had won in past negotiations, particularly on overtime.
The union went on strike for nearly six months and eventually retained most of the work rights Mr. McCardell had sought to take away. Harvester had lost $479.4 million during the strike and $397.3 million in its 1980 fiscal year.
Union members complained that Mr. McCardell and his lieutenants only heightened tensions by acting arrogant and aloof during the strike, in one instance, they said, sending armed guards to watch dismissed workers clean out their lockers, The New York Times reported in 1982.
Another flash point was Mr. McCardell’s compensation package, which included a $1.5 million signing bonus and a $450,000 annual salary — astronomical figures for executive compensation then but modest ones by today’s standards. Workers as well as shareholders were also furious when the company forgave a $1.8 million loan to Mr. McCardell.
The labor problems only added to the company’s woes. Climbing interest rates, weak markets and high-cost plants had helped push Harvester’s debt to $4.5 billion. Only through an agreement with 200 lenders in 1981 did Harvester escape bankruptcy.
Mr. McCardell resigned in May 1982, although Time magazine and other publications suggested that his departure was really a firing. “The real wonder was that McCardell had not been ousted much earlier,” Time said.
International Harvester did not recover, and in 1985 it sold its farm equipment division, which had started with Cyrus McCormick’s reaper factory. Its crimson tractors and combines had long been a familiar feature of the American heartland. The remainder of the company, its truck and engines division, became the Navistar International Corporation in 1986.
Archie Richard McCardell was born in Hazel Park, Mich., on Aug. 29, 1926. He served in the Army Air Forces, then used the G.I. Bill to earn undergraduate and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Michigan. He joined Ford as a financial analyst. In 1960, he was appointed secretary-treasurer of Ford of Australia, and three years later became director of finance for Ford of Germany.
In 1966, he joined Xerox as group vice president for corporate services, rising to president in 1971. At Xerox, he helped set up a program for employees to get paid leave in order to serve their communities.
His ability to cut costs and shepherd technological innovation attracted the attention of Booz Allen Hamilton, which was helping revamp Harvester. Booz Allen recruited him for the Harvester job.
Mr. McCardell later worked in real estate development, scuba-diving expeditions and other business ventures.
He is survived by his wife, the former Margaret Edith Martin; three children, Sandra, Laurie and Clay, all of whom have the last name McCardell and all of whom live in Casper; two brothers, Allan, of Milford, Mich., and Arnold, of Perry, Mich.; one sister, JoAnne Iwanicki, of Warren, Mich.; and four grandchildren in addition to Mr. Arcenas.
Six months after Mr. McCardell left Harvester, he spoke to a group at Harvard Business School. He said he had two regrets: the controversial nature of his compensation deal, and not getting to know union people better before the strike.
Asked to grade himself, Mr. McCardell nonetheless replied, “I think I rate myself superb.”
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