John Smale was arguably the most influential corporate leader of the second half of the 20th century. He grew one great company, Procter & Gamble, more than six-fold during the 21 years he led as president, CEO and chairman of the board. He helped another great com-pany, General Motors, regain momentum in his role as chairman of the board at a critical time in GM's history - and set a new stan-dard for corporate governance that has since transformed the role that Boards of public companies are expected to play. He champi-oned diversity, not only as a US priority but also as a global priority. And he defined a corporate vision for the purpose and social responsibil-ity of business that was decades ahead of its time. And yet, John Smale is largely unknown to many leaders guiding American and global businesses today.
John Smale was arguably the most influential corporate leader of the second half of the 20th century. He grew one great company, Procter & Gamble, more than six-fold during the 21 years he led as president, CEO and chairman of the board. He helped another great com-pany, General Motors, regain momentum in his role as chairman of the board at a critical time in GM's history - and set a new stan-dard for corporate governance that has since transformed the role that Boards of public companies are expected to play. He champi-oned diversity, not only as a US priority but also as a global priority. And he defined a corporate vision for the purpose and social responsibil-ity of business that was decades ahead of its time. And yet, John Smale is largely unknown to many leaders guiding American and global businesses today.
