Talking Straight

Lee Iacocca was born Lido Anthony Iacocca in 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. he attended Lehigh University as well as Princeton, receiving degrees in industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. In 1946, Iacocca got a job working for Ford Motor Company as an engineering trainee. He switched to sales and in 1953, had worked his way up to show more assistant sales manager of the Philadelphia district. Three years later he was named sales manager in Washington D. C., and by 1960 he had succeeded Robert S. McNamara as Vice President and General Manager. In 1964, Iacocca developed the Ford Mustang, which was wildly popular, and later introduced the Mercury Cougar and the Lincoln Mark III. Finally in 1970, Iacocca reached the top and was crowned President of Ford. Eight years later he was fired due to the tense relationship between him and Henry Ford II, and was quickly snatched up as President and Chief Executive Officer at Chrysler Corporation. Chrysler was a failing industry at this point, much in debt, but Iacocca managed to turn the company around, cutting costs, getting federal assistance, introducing new cars that sold amazingly well, such as the K-car, and repaying all of the loans in five years. In 1984, Chrysler introduced Iacocca's Chrysler Minivan, which became one of the best selling vehicles in North America. Iacocca retired in 1992 but remained the head of Chrysler's executive committee. He has written two best selling books, "Iacocca: An Autobiography" in 1984, and "Talking Straight" in 1988. Lee Iacocca passed away on July 2, 2019 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less