| Bill Agee | |
|---|---|
Bill Agee in 1990 |
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| Born | January 5, 1938 Boise, Idaho, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | MBA |
| Alma mater | University of Idaho, Harvard Business School |
| Occupation | business executive |
| Known for | tenure as CEO Bendix Corporation CEO of Morrison Knudsen |
| Spouse | Mary Cunningham Agee, (m. 1982) |
| Awards | Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award (1978), Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor (1990) |
William Joseph Agee is an American businessman. In 1976 at age 38, he became the youngest non-family member CEO of a Fortune 100 Company when he was appointed President and CEO of the Bendix Corporation.[1] In the 1980s and 1990s he served as Chairman, President and CEO of Morrison Knudsen Corporation (MK). He is presently a business consultant, venture capitalist, and chairman of a charitable foundation. He has received six honorary doctorate degrees and has sat on the boards of Fortune 500 corporations including Equitable Life and Dow Jones as well as Bendix and Morrison Knudsen. In 1979 he was featured in a Time magazine cover story titled "Faces of the Future", and was named Finance Magazine's "Financial Man of the Year" in 1976.
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Agee attended Stanford University for his freshman year (1956–1957), and returned to Boise, Idaho when his family could not afford the tuition. He attended Boise Junior College for one year, earning an associate's degree degree while working 40 hours per week in Albertson’s accounting department. He then transferred to the University of Idaho where he joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, was elected senior class president, and graduated with highest honors.
Following graduation, Agee worked for the Title Insurance Company in Boise between 1960 and 1961. He was promoted to controller and senior escrow officer at the age of 23. He then enrolled in the Harvard Business School in 1961 and was awarded a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), with distinction, in 1963. He became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 1964 and joined the American and Idaho societies of CPAs.
Agee was hired by Boise Cascade Corporation at age 25 and quickly moved up the corporate ladder. Starting as Executive Assistant to CEO Bob Hansberger, Agee was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 1969 at age 31, and Senior Vice President in 1971.
Agee joined Bendix Corporation, an automobile industry related manufacturer located near Detroit, Michigan, in May 1976. He had been recruited for the post by Bendix's then-CEO, Michael Blumenthal. He became CFO and Executive Vice President, and held a seat on the Board of Directors. He was elected President of the company in December 1976 at the age of 38, and was elevated to CEO a few weeks later when Blumenthal left Bendix to become the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.[1]
Agee was recognized in Time magazine [2] for his strategy of bold, selective acquisitions aimed at transforming Bendix from a slow-growth manufacturing company in a mature industry, into a diversified high-tech corporation. Agee's strategy dramatically increased the stock value of Bendix during Agee's tenure despite a recession that afflicted two of its traditionally main businesses, automobile parts and machine tools. While competitors floundered in 1981, Bendix' profits increased 136% and its fiscal year revenues rose to $4.4 billion.[2]
Agee was an unorthodox executive for the 1970s, often dressing in business casual attire years before it was in vogue. He removed the traditional boardroom table, replacing it with large, comfortable chairs to improve communication.[3] He abolished reserved parking for top executives, allowing the best parking spots to go to employees who arrived at the office the earliest.
He was best-known for promoting young employees based upon merit rather than seniority. His mentorship of hard-working, recent MBA graduates was first publicly noticed with Agee's promotion of Bernard Winograd, at age 28. This practice continued and caused a flurry of media interest in 1980 when he promoted, with board approval, a qualified young woman, Mary Cunningham, to be his executive assistant and VP for Strategic Planning.[4] A nationally publicized, sensationalized account of an alleged office romance between Agee and Cunningham – which both denied – led to Cunningham’s resignation in October 1980 when she felt she could no longer effectively do her job. The Bendix board issued a public statement highlighting her accomplishments. High profile women including Gloria Steinem said that sexism and media bias had caused an unfair brouhaha.[1][4][5][6][7] William Agee and Mary Cunningham were married in June 1982.[5]
It was an era of corporate takeovers, and on the surface, the acquisition would have been a solid business move. With Ronald Reagan in the White House, defense spending was expected to increase substantially, and the U.S. auto industry, Bendix's primary client, was in decline. On August 25, 1982, Bendix announced it had purchased 1.6 million shares of Martin Marietta for $40 million. Martin Marietta fought the hostile takeover by attempting to acquire Bendix, employing the Pac-Man defense, in which a company that is threatened with a takeover, attempts to turn the tables by acquiring its would-be buyer. At one point, Bendix owned a majority of Martin Marietta shares, while Martin Marietta, in turn owned a majority of Bendix shares. Neither Agee nor Marietta President Thomas Pownall would concede defeat, with Pownall refusing even to meet with Agee. When Marietta enlisted the help of a third company, United Technologies Corporation.[8] Agee sought a partner to fend off the threatened takeover of Bendix. Agee eventually found Edward Hennessy of Allied Corp., who offered a way out of the stand-off: Allied would take possession of Marietta's shares of Bendix in exchange for the return of Bendix's Marietta holdings. In effect, Martin Marietta would remain an independent company while Bendix would become a subsidiary of Allied.[9] Agee resigned from Bendix following the merger.[10]
From 1988 to 1995 Agee was Chairman, President and CEO of the construction company, Morrison Knudsen Corporation (MK) of Boise, Idaho.[11] He had served on MK's Board of Directors for several years, and he was the Board's first choice to step in as CEO and President. At that time, a hostile takeover attempt by Chicago businessman Edward Heil and record losses were threatening the company’s existence. Agee successfully thwarted the takeover and returned the failing Morrison Knudsen to profitability within one year.[12] By 1990, Agee had made the company highly profitable and it was debt-free.[12] Agee had employed a diversification strategy which changed the company from one which was nearly totally reliant on heavy construction, to one which was involved in railroad remanufacturing, precious minerals such as gold, and the transit business. Agee formed MK Gold and MK Rail Corporation, and was appointed CEO of each. MK had record profits between 1989 and 1991 which derived from operating revenue, accounting decisions, and non-traditional sources of income such as investments.[11] During his time with MK, Agee replaced most of Board of Directors, including Velma Morrison, second wife of company co-founder Harry Morrison, who then became an outspoken critic of Agee.
In February 1995, when MK announced a loss of $310 million for fiscal year 1994, a leak of an intended Agee resignation drew broad media attention which resulted in Agee resigning earlier than originally planned.[11]
Agee is Chairman of Semper Charitable Foundation, the Semper family's charitable foundation, and he chairs Semper Partners, a venture capital and consulting firm founded in partnership with his wife, Mary Cunningham Agee. Semper Partners expertise is in turning around small, entrepreneurial companies.
An example of Agee's success in venture capital and consulting is the growth and sale of Mozzarella Fresca, a company that he helped develop into the largest fresh mozzarella manufacturer in the West with customers ranging from Whole Foods to Domino's Pizza.[13]
Agee has served on the Board of Directors of Fortune 500 firms including Dow Jones (1978–1993), the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (1974–1977), Morrison Knudsen (1974–1977 and 1981–1985) Equitable Life (1976–1985), ASARCO (1979–1981), and General Foods (1979–1983).[14][15][16][17][18]
Agee also served as a Director of Allied Corporation, MK Gold Company, MK Rail Corporation, LoJack Corporation and Key Bank Corp. Other directorships have included the Committee for Economic Development, National Council for U.S. - China Trade, the Urban Institute, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, the Detroit Renaissance Foundation, the United Foundation, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Cranbrook Education Community.[15][16][17][18]
Agee's has received honorary doctorates from the University of Detroit (1980), Lawrence Institute of Technology (1980), Eastern Michigan University (1980), Bryant College, Cleary University, and Nathaniel Hawthorne College. In 1978, he received the Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award [19] and in 1990 received the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor.[20]