Mark Hinckley Willes (born July 16, 1941) is a business leader who was most recently the chief executive officer of

Deseret Management Corporation The Deseret Management Corporation (DMC) () is a global operating company, managing for-profit entities affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was established in 1966 by church president David O. McKay to ...

from 2009 to 2012. Willes was born in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, to Joseph S. Willes and Ruth Hinckley. His mother was a sister of

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

, the 15th

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Willes graduated from West High School in Salt Lake City. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. After graduating from Columbia, Willes became a professor at the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

and a researcher with the Philadelphia Branch of the

Federal Reserve Bank A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve A ...

. He later left Wharton and became Vice President of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve. Willes served a term as president of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

from 1977 to 1980. While in this position he pushed for researchers to examine rational expectations theory. He also was often a dissenting vote in meetings of the Fed's

Federal Open Market Committee The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a committee within the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), is charged under United States law with overseeing the nation's open market operations (e.g., the Fed's buying and selling of United States Treasur ...

. He later served as an executive with

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

where, among other positions, he served as president, Chief Operating Officer, and vice chairman of the Board of Directors. For his cost-cutting and elimination of many jobs, he was widely dubbed "The Cereal Killer". Willes was CEO of

Times Mirror The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

Company from 1995 to 2000. He took over a company that in its central property, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' (Times), had been struggling through downsizing and declines since the start of 1990. In 1997, Willes took on the additional duty of being publisher of the Times. In this position he tried to expand the newspaper's outreach by starting a section aimed at Latino readers. At the same time, he cut staffing and the extent of international coverage. Willes also pushed to end the wall of separation between the business and news sides of the newspaper. He majorly increased the level of profits of the Times while he ran it. Willes is a member of LDS Church. Willes served for almost a decade as

of the church's Minneapolis Minnesota

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

. Willes and his wife, Laura, are the parents of five children. After the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

purchased Times Mirror, Willes retired. He then worked for about a year as a business professor at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU). He then served from 2001 to 2004 as

of the LDS Church's Hawaii Honolulu

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. Beginning in 2005, Willes served as chairman of the board of the

Polynesian Cultural Center The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), was ...

, having first became a member of the board in 1996. He was a major donor to the construction of the canoe learning compound. BYU-Hawaii renamed their Center for International Entrepreneurship as the ''Mark and Laura Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship''. Willes donated to BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Center for Religious Scholarship, which led to the 2007 establishment of the ''Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies'', as part of the center."Willes center established"
''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is ...

'', June 7, 2007.

Notes

References

"Media: Some forks in the road after journalism"
''New York Times'', February 4, 2002 *''Deseret News'', March 12, 2010

''New York Times'' March 15, 2000
'"New home for Deseret Book"
''

'', May 16, 2009
"Times mirror goes outside for new chief"
''New York Times'' May 2, 1995
''Marriott Magazine'' Summer 2001 article on Mark Willes

External links

Statements and speeches of Mark H. Willes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willes, Mark H. 1941 births American chief executives American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American publishers (people) Brigham Young University faculty Businesspeople from Salt Lake City Columbia College (New York) alumni Hinckley family Latter Day Saints from Hawaii Latter Day Saints from Minnesota Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints from Utah Living people Mission presidents (LDS Church) University of Pennsylvania faculty