Charles E. Spahr

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Charles E. Spahr (1913-10-08 – ) Born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Independence, Missouri. Charlie Spahr, as he prefers to be known, is the youngest person to be appointed President in Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) history. He was then appointed as CEO of Sohio from 1959 to 1977, and was instrumental in the building of the Alaskan Pipeline.

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[edit] Early Life

Growing up[1]on a small family farm in Independence, Missouri, Charlie’s father worked at the nearby Sugar Creek refinery location of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana.[verification needed]

His grandfather, Moses Spahr, was a Methodist minister. When his father was in his teens, Moses was sent to minister in the Coffeyville, Kansas area. Located on the southern Kansas border, Moses made this move prior to Oklahoma becoming a state. It was still a rough region at that time; Moses Spahr preached against “whisky, murder, and mayhem.”[2][not in citation given]

[edit] Education and Early Career

Graduating from the University of Kansas, with his Baccalaureate in Civil Engineering[3] and Mechanical Engineering[verification needed] in 1934[3], he is shown to be a member of the Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity[4] and of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.[5] Spahr earned his way through college during the Great Depression by binding books for the engineering program, and working as chauffeur for Chancellor Ernest Lindley.[6] He would later build a new Spahr School of Engineering building[6] Following his graduation from the University of Kansas, he worked as a boiler operator at the Sugar Creek Refinery in Sugar Creek, Missouri.

Charlie then went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma as an engineer, doing pipeline design and surveying. After three years, Charlie became interested in management. This proved to be a pivotal decision, as he then pursued his MBA with the Harvard Business School, graduating in 1939.[7][not in citation given] He married Mary Jane Bruckmiller of Sugar Creek just before leaving for Harvard.[8][not in citation given] Janie Bruckmiller had attended the University of Kansas as well. Additionally, Janie's father was a superintendent at the Sugar Creek refinery where Charlie's father was employed as a foreman. The two men knew one another.

After his MBA was complete, Charlie returned to Bartlesville for roughly six months before going to work for Standard Oil of Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained for the next thirty-eight years. His first position was that of Pipeline Designer.

[edit] War Experience

Spahr served as an Army Corps of Engineers major in charge of pipeline construction during World War II.[3] Assigned to the China-Burma pipeline, he gained significant experience in pipeline installation while making important military connections. Spahr was awarded the Bronze Star during his service.[verification needed]

[edit] Standard Oil Career Path

At Standard Oil, Spahr became Vice President of Transportation in 1951,[3] in charge of barges, waterways, etc. In 1952, he served in the US government’s Petroleum Administration for Defense as director of the supply and transportation division.[3] In 1955, he became Sohio Executive Vice President[3] of all operations other than oil production and exploration. Attaining the position of President in 1957, and in charge of all operations, Charlie was the youngest President in Sohio history. He was then awarded the position of Chief Executive Officer in 1959.

As described by Spahr, in his competition for the CEO position, the board was comprised of employees of Sohio, and members from outside of the company. The board announced their decision to interview an employee from inside the company, and a second member from outside. The board had decided to select the outside member, who was from an industry unrelated to petroleum. When they approached Charlie in regards to his support of the decision and the new CEO. Spahr said that if not awarded the CEO position, he would seek other employment. Indicating that he had the confidence, knowledge, war experience and connections, Spahr felt he the right man for the job. It was a bold move;[neutrality disputed] the board changed their decision.[1]

[edit] The Alaskan Pipeline

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The Atlantic Richfield Company discovered oil in Alaska in 1968. In late 1968 and early 1969, Charlie Spahr began to work out the details of Sohio’s working relationship with British Petroleum in Prudhoe Bay. Prior to that agreement, Sohio produced only one barrel of oil out of four that they refined.

BP had substantial acreage in Prudhoe Bay, but had no American refineries, which they viewed as the most important oil market in the world. By forging a relationship with Sohio, BP was able to take advantage of the talents of an established company. Until that point, though Sohio had diversified through coal, and the creation and growth of a series of motels and restaurants on the new Interstate Highway system, it was still just a marketer and refiner. Sohio needed to produce oil, as well as refine and market oil products.

The Alaskan pipeline was a development of great magnitude. There were weather handicaps, and large quantities of supplies had to be moved over great distances. The four years spent addressing political matters allowed for in-depth study of the process of building the pipeline. Once started, time was one of the greatest challenges; there was roughly a six week window in which materials could be moved through the Bering Strait by ship.

In his taped interview, Spahr expresses a positive attitude toward the environmental groups which were critical of the building of the pipeline. “I think that the opposition we encountered, particularly in the beginning, was healthy, because it did make us doubly sure that our designs were good.”[1] The Caribou herds grew by four times their 1969 size, as the pipeline grounds produced grazing lands.[citation needed] Their migration was not impeded, as was a concern on the part of environmental groups at that time.[citation needed]

[edit] Observations

Spahr prefers a style of productive management over management limited to the financial perspective.[1][verification needed] His tenure at Sohio reflects that philosophy.[9][not in citation given]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Charles Spahr. (1987). Conversation with Charles Spahr [VHS]. The Idea Channel Discussions.
  2. ^ http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/99condon/99condon.htm
  3. ^ a b c d e f http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,893829,00.html
  4. ^ http://www.thetatau.org/alumni/fame.html
  5. ^ http://www.tbp.org/pages/WhoWeAre/DistinguishedMembers/Business.cfm
  6. ^ a b http://www.news.ku.edu/2003/03N/OctNews/Oct27/spahr.html
  7. ^ http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/news_events/alumni_achievement/aa_past_winners.html
  8. ^ http://www.lib.ku.edu/englib/Namesakes.shtml
  9. ^ http://www.bw.edu/academics/bus/mba/exper/bh/cc/index.html

[edit] External links

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