William Martin was an extremely successful business man, described by his peers as a genius of the industry. Upon his beginnings at Phillips Petroleum Martin quickly rose through the ranks as he served as both treasurer and Secretary before being appointed to the board of directors in 1964. The following year he was named the senior vice president; by 1971 he was named president of the company. In 1973 he became the Chief Executive Officer and a year later he was made chairman of the board.
Martin is credited with leading the company through a period of exponential growth while the company was in his reigns. They eventually became one of the top companies in the entire industry and much of their success is credited to Brother Martin. In 1972 he was honored by the University of Oklahoma by being named to their Alumni Hall of Fame.
Dr. Paul Martin earned the majority of his living through the automobile industry but he never forgot the values that Phi Delta Theta instilled in him. He claimed his proudest achievement in life was his devotion to the Christian faith. He is one of the two highest individual donors to the University of Akron.
In 1935, Paul and his father began their exploits into the automotive industry by purchasing their first dealership. At the peak of Brother Martin’s business he owned nine separate dealerships in northern Ohio, a group that became known as the Martin Auto Group.
At the age of 31 he was stationed in France while a part of the United States Army, he was injured ironically enough in an automobile accident and was discharged while at the rank of lieutenant colonel. When he returned to the states he picked up in the automobile industry. During his career he either founded, was president, or was chairman of twelve separate companies. He was also a two time recipient of the Times magazine Quality Dealer of the Year.
Brother Martin was a generous man as he gave more than seven million dollars to his alma mater, the University of Akron. He served as chairman of the universities $52 million fundraising campaign in the 90’s as well as president of their foundation. He helped fund the building in which Phi Delta Theta’s General Headquarters is located in. Brother Martin passed away in 2011.
John Willard Marriott was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation (which became Marriott International in 1993), the parent company of one of the world’s largest hospitality, hotel chains, and food services companies.
The Marriott Company rose from a small root beer stand in Washington D.C. in 1927 to a chain of family restaurants by 1932, to its first motel in 1957. By the time he died, the Marriott Company operated 1,400 restaurants and 143 hotels and resorts worldwide, including two theme parks, earned USD $4.5 billion in revenue annually with 154,600 employees.
Marriott rarely rested while growing his business, his mind always consumed with his dreams for the company’s future. Throughout his life, he was also invested in the Mormon church, charity, and country.
Will R. Manier, Jr. was one of Tennessee’s most impactful Rotarians. He was a charter member of the Nashville Rotary Club which was organized in 1913. He was President of the Nashville Club during the 1921-22 Rotary year, and District Governor during the 1923-24 year. Under his leadership many new Rotary clubs were established. He was named President of Rotary International for the 1936-37 year and served Rotary with great distinction. Until his death on January 31, 1953, he was recognized as one of the outstanding leaders of the Rotary world.
Rotarians in his home district approved plans for the Will R. Manier, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Awards at the April, 1956 District Conference. The first awards were given for the 1956-57 school year. Awards have been made annually since that time.
Howard Morgens began his career at P&G in 1933 as a salesman, to later become chairman and then chief executive officer (1957 to 1974). During his tenure, the company shifted from a U.S. soap and shortening company in to a broadly diversified international business.
Morgens’ incredible leadership led to P&G’s extensive brand share, quadrupling sales, and revolutionary changes in TV advertising. Such efforts helped Mr. Morgens garner a multitude of honors and awards for his business and civic achievements.
He also helped to establish the Business Roundtable and served on numerous national civic, social service and education boards.
Dave has had a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, technology, culture, design, nature, and improving society.
Morin began his career at Apple in 2003 where he assumed positions in marketing. In 2006, Morin left Apple and joined Facebook as senior platform manager. Morin co-created Facebook Platform, a software environment allowing third party developers to create applications within Facebook, and Facebook Connect, a technology for Facebook members to connect their profile data and authentication credentials to external web sites. In 2010, Morin left Facebook to co-found Path.
Morin has helped to raise capital for startups such as Hipcamp through angel investor scheme AngelList. He also founded the venture capital firm, Slow Ventures. It is based in San Francisco.
Dave serves on the Board of Directors of Eventbrite and on the Boards of two Non-Profit Organizations, the United States Ski and Snowboard Association and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Morin and several technological innovators, creators, or business owners launched Fwd.us, a Silicon Valley-based 501(c)(4) lobbying group.
He grew up under the big sky of Montana where he was ranked as one of the top downhill ski racers in America.
Gary Morin is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Lexmark International, Inc. He joined the company in January 1996. In addition to financial operations, he is responsible for Lexmark’s investor relations, corporate communications, strategy and development, and audit and security functions.
Morin previously was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Huffy Corp. in Dayton, Ohio. Earlier, he held a number of positions with Huffy, including president and general manager of the Huffy Bicycle Co. and president and general manager of Washington Inventory Service. Morin also served in several financial management positions with Tambrands Inc., General Foods Corp. and The Pillsbury Co.
James Nance had a very long career inside the automotive industry. While at Studebaker Packard, Nance moved to separate the Packard Clipper range of vehicles into a stand-alone brand, Clipper. He also expedited development of Packard’s first V8 engine and automatic transmission, Ultramatic. Nance left Studebaker Packard in 1956 when the company was on the verge of insolvency, but not until he found the organization a safe-harbor relationship with airplane manufacturer Curtiss-Wright.
Following his tenure at Studebaker Packard, Nance was named vice president of Ford’s Mercury Edsel Lincoln Division. He left the automobile business following his tenure with Ford and became president and CEO of Central National Bank of Cleveland, Ohio 1960, being elevated to the position of chairman and CEO in 1962.
Nance also served on numerous universities boards of trustees until his passing in 1984.
James Olson effectively helped AT&T get back into stable conditions during his brief tenure as the CEO of AT&T. He is considered one of the last of his generations as a CEO, this being due to the fact he spent his entire working career, a span of 46 years, working his way up AT&T’s chain of command.
Mr. Olson became an AT&T executive vice president in 1977 and was elected vice chairman in 1979. He became the chairman and chief executive of AT&T Technologies in 1984 and the president and chief operating officer the following year. He was elected chairman in September 1986.
