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John Smale

1927 - 2011

John Smale obituary, 1927-2011, Cincinnati, OH

BORN

1927

DIED

2011

John Smale Obituary

John Smale, who transformed Procter & Gamble, and then went on to turn around General Motors, died Saturday at the age of 84.

As chief executive of Procter & Gamble through the 1980s, Smale navigated the consumer products giant through a recession, initiated major acquisitions, expanded P&G's international footprint and restructured the company to make it more responsive to competitors and customers.

He was an unassuming but driven corporate chieftain who doubled sales and profits at P&G during his leadership. After he retired from P&G, Smale turned his attention to an even bigger corporate behemoth – General Motors – where he shook up a staid management culture and restored what was then the world's largest company to profitability.

Born in the small town of Listowel, Ontario, in 1927, Smale enrolled at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in January 1945, following his twin sister. He was social chairman of the Phi Delts, and partly financed his education by researching and writing two "how-to" books he sold to fraternities and sororities around the country: "Party 'Em Up," and its sequel, "Party 'Em Up Some More."

He got interested in marketing through a professor who also ran a business that employed Smale part-time. One of his work assignments was to gather petitions to help Cincinnati's NuMaid Margarine change an archaic law prohibiting margarine from being yellow.

"That's when I decided that's what I wanted to do," he told Miami's alumni magazine in 2009. "I wanted to get into marketing."

After graduating in 1949, Smale joined the Vick Chemical Co., selling products in 22 states from a 1949 Ford. Years later under Smale, P&G would purchase its successor company, Richardson-Vicks, a blockbuster acquisition that brought several top-selling brands into the P&G portfolio.

Passing through Chicago one day, Smale saw a newspaper ad from P&G seeking brand managers. "As soon as I got to Cincinnati, I was working until 11 every night," Smale said in an April 2011 interview with The Cincinnati Enquirer.

He made his name at P&G early on, working on what was then a new and promising brand: Crest toothpaste. Smale was convinced that earning a third-party endorsement of Crest and its new-to-the-market cavity-fighting fluoristan would boost Crest's sales. He courted the American Dental Association persistently, visiting its Chicago offices monthly to win over the dentists and negotiate the terms of an endorsement. It became the first agreement of its kind in the industry, a model for other P&G marketing agreements to follow, and is credited with pushing Crest to the head of the toothpaste pack.

Smale rose through the ranks at P&G: vice president of the toilet goods division, vice president of the detergent division, executive vice president, and in 1974, president, overseeing P&G's entire U.S. operation. In 1981, he was named chief executive, taking over the top spot when P&G faced a variety of threats to its growth. Chief among them was a double-dip recession in 1981 and 1982 that was, at the time, the worst since the '30s.

Lower-cost competitors were grabbing market share away from key brands such as Pampers, Crest and Tide. The rise of mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart meant power was shifting away from manufacturers such as P&G to the merchants.

Smale's plan to re-energize growth was to cut costs, speed the pace of introducing new products and make big acquisitions. He cut about 10 percent of the salaried workforce in the early '80s, and in 1986 embarked on a major reorganization, structuring the company around big product categories, such as oral care products and laundry detergent, rather than the specific brands.

It was considered a major change in P&G's organization, pushing decision making down the chain and improving efficiency.

"We started the brand management structure in the '20s – and it worked," Smale said. "But our customers were changing."

New twists on old products accelerated during Smale's tenure. Innovations such as liquid Tide, Ultra Pampers and tartar control Crest jump-started sales.

Smale's most enduring P&G legacy was the major acquisitions he made that provided some of its best known billion-dollar brands. In 1982, P&G bought Norwich Eaton, getting the company into the pharmaceuticals business in a big way and giving it well-known over-the-counter brands such as Pepto Bismol and Chloraseptic.

Its push into health care was expanded in 1985 with the purchase of G.D. Searle, maker of Metamucil, and then the blockbuster acquisition of Richardson-Vicks. That deal, worth $1.2 billion, was then the biggest in P&G's history and brought it well-known brands such as Vicks, Olay, Pantene and Vidal Sassoon. Just as importantly, it immediately expanded P&G's presence in many overseas countries, including several in Asia.

Smale topped that purchase in 1989 with a $1.3 billion deal to acquire Noxell Co. that brought the Noxzema and Cover Girl brands into the P&G portfolio and signaled a major foray into the beauty care arena.

Not everything Smale touched turned to gold. P&G's venture into soft drinks never paid the dividends it expected. Likewise, its 1981 purchase of an orange juice business was a disappointment. And on Smale's watch in 1985, P&G experienced its first drop in profits in more than 30 years.

But by the late '80s, P&G had rebounded. Its overseas sales more than doubled. Overall revenue doubled to more than $20 billion and so did profits, to $1.2 billion.

P&G had become a leading player in international markets, had acquired several enduring brands and remade itself into a leaner, more efficient business.

"He transformed the company," said chairman and CEO Bob McDonald. "He left the institution better in terms of the business and in terms of the people. He was particularly focused on new brands and new categories at a time when we needed to be."

Smale retired from P&G in 1990, but he remained on the board for five more years.

In 1992, he was given the assignment of turning around General Motors. As a board member since 1982, Smale had pushed the slumbering giant to cut costs and reorganize its management. But by the early '90s, the iconic automaker was losing billions.

In 1992, the board ousted chairman and CEO Robert Stempel and made Smale the first outside director to become GM chairman since the '30s. Along with Jack Smith, who was named CEO, Smale re-engineered GM's management into something similar to P&G's, emphasizing accountability in middle management and creating brand managers who were responsible for profits in individual car and truck lines.

The turnaround was swift. By 1994, GM was posting record profits of $4.9 billion. Smale stepped down as GM chairman in 1995 but remained on the board until 2002.

Throughout Smale's professional career, the one constant in his life was his wife, Phyllis. They met as freshmen in Oxford, where she was attending Western College. They married in 1950. She died in 2006.

She was instrumental in raising $1 million to beautify public spaces in Cincinnati. Sometimes on Saturday afternoons, the couple would plant together. Last June, the city revealed that Smale had donated $20 million toward construction of Cincinnati Riverfront Park in memory of his wife. The park was renamed the Phyllis W. Smale Riverfront Park.

As she neared the end of her life, the couple dug out old love letters from the Miami years and read them to each other.

"When Phyllis died, it hit me hard," Smale said in his last interview with The Enquirer.
Published by The Cincinnati Enquirer from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for John Smale

Not sure what to say?





25 Entries

Patricia Whiteside, Appraiser

January 22, 2014

A Brilliant Man: A Greater Loss:

The coastline John and Phyllis helped preserve forever

David Skipp

September 5, 2012

A bit of John and Phyllis' legacy also lives on in the form of a pristine, 3-kilometer stretch of coastline in Yucatan called Pez Maya. In 2003, they gave Amigos de Sian Kaan, a Mexican environmental agency and Nature Conservancy affiliate I worked with, the cornerstone gift that permitted the purchase of this strategic parcel that serves as a buffer between encroaching development and the UNESCO-designated Sian Kaan Biosphere. The Biosphere, in turn, supports the health of the surrounding lagoon and reef system, including the renowned fishing spot, Boca Paila Inlet, which abuts Pez Maya. They will be remembered by all who enjoy this priceless ecosystem. For info, [email protected]

Erica Ress Martin

December 3, 2011

John was a wonderful leader and an even better friend. Erica Ress Martin

Karen Archambault

December 2, 2011

I enjoyed the company of Mr. and Mrs. Smale. I have fond childhood memories coming to their house by the river with my grandparents who were good friends of theres. I remember being introduced to Salmon at their house and enjoying the telescope they had. Delightful people gone and not forgotten.

John Altman

December 1, 2011

John was a great friend,mentor, and fellow fly fisherman. His contributions to his alma mater, and the Nature Conservancy influenced many of us to emulate his efforts.

John W. Altman
Miami University
Claa of 1960

tyler neace

November 26, 2011

i didn't know john, but he sounds like a great leader and most importantly a great friend

Doris Atteberry

November 22, 2011

A great loss for the community. his many friends and family. W e all were privledged to have known him. My sympathy to his family. Doris Atteberry

a streicher

November 22, 2011

FAMILY OF JOHN SMALE: WE APPRECIATE HIS INOVATIONS, WHERE WOULD WE WOMEN BE TODAY? WE LOOK FORWARD TO THINKING HIM IN PERSON IN GODS NEW WORLD SOON AFTER ALL HIS KINGDOM IS STILL COMING!MATTHEW 6:9,10.

KEN&MARY O'DANIEL

November 21, 2011

WE ARE SENDING OUR LOVE,PRAYERS,&CONDOLENCES TO THE SMALE FAMILY,FRIENDS,&ALL WHO KNEW MR. SMALE.

Kelly Ryan

November 21, 2011

Our prayers and deepest sympathy are with you. The Kelly Ryan Family

Daniel Hoffheimer

November 21, 2011

John and Phyllis Smale were everything one could ask for in community citizens. And they were kind, caring, and delightful people--who are greatly missed but not forgotten

Stewart

November 21, 2011

May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.

M.Victoria&Andrew

November 20, 2011

our condlonces
GodBless you
john smale
Thank you for all
the Great products
of Beauty more other
in UPC product inventions
to make use in our care..
condolences to the ceo of
proctor&gamble best useful,items

John Natale Salierno

November 20, 2011

Mr. John Smale was a supporter of Junior Achievment of Ohio,Indiana and Kentucky. His generosity help children from Cincinnati through J.A. I remember how the impact helped inner city children from Walnut Hills and Queensgate area. God Bless him and keep him in the palm of his hand.

Lisa

November 20, 2011

He was a great leader and a great human being, leaving a huge legacy for P&G and Cincinnati. I learned so much from him and am passing that learning on to others. Sending thoughts and prayers to his extended family.

Kent Cartner

November 20, 2011

God Bless Mr. Smale and his family. I worked for P & G from 78 - 2008 and appreciated all of his leadership and vision for the company.

November 20, 2011

What lessons along the way. For marriages, for parenting, for business ( ethics, thinking outside the box, commitment, vision!)
Thoughts and prayers to all of you still here in family and friendships! To include the seeds, and what reaps from the love of labor with dedicated commitment! A win win! He knew well the circle of life, and thanks Jay, Jr! Sally Everhart Proctor

Derek Farmer

November 20, 2011

I met Mr. Smale while working a GM Board meeting in Oklahoma City. He was very humble and unpretensious. I introduced him to his driver. While living in Cincinnati (Hyde Park), he and his wife would shop at a local Kroger. Although Chairman of GM, he and his wife went to the dealer and purchased her new Saturn. Mr. Smale was a true leader and made all around him feel that he was no different than they. Derek F. (Columbus, Ohio)

Elida Paredes

November 20, 2011

Our condolences to the family of Mr. Smale, without his long hours of work many people would not have the jobs at P&G they have today. I am one of those people working in the Kansas City plant and I enjoy my job.

May God wrap his arms around the entire family and receive Mr. Smale in his blessed arms.

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Paredes

cathy zamora

November 20, 2011

We are so sorry for your loss. the whole world will miss him.

John Rolwing

November 20, 2011

I was in the then Bar Soap and Household Cleaning Products Div on St. Louis. The year-end Division meeting was In Detroit (1971) and Mr. Smale gave a rousing talk on "Honest Sales bring honest success"...it was a pleasure to meet him...as our St Louis Division was # 1 nationally that year. Rest in Peace, Sir.

November 20, 2011

Our thoughts are with the family of John Smale. John Smale was one of our great leaders who had a vision for growing PG's business outside the US. That vison opened the door for our growth in Asia.

Randy Overton, PG

Chester & Ginger

November 20, 2011

We are sorry for the family's loss of Mr. Smale. Having purchased numerous items under the label 'Proctor & Gamble' we realize his influence on our daily duties.
May you receive strength and courage as you continue as Mr. Smale would want for you. He rests w/ God, standing next to Him, giving suggestions of ways to help the world.

November 20, 2011

Warm Summer Sun

Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.

By Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
The Poetry Foundation

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