Robert E. Hillard (November 17, 1917 – March 15, 2000) was an American businessman, public relations executive, and former journalist who co-founded Fleishman–Hillard with his friend and business partner

Alfred Fleishman Alfred Fleishman (June 16, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American businessman and the co-founder of Fleishman-Hillard with his business partner Robert Hillard. Over the course of his career, Fleishman earned a reputation not only as one of t ...

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, Hillard graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

and ''summa cum laude'' from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Career

After graduating from college, he worked as a reporter for the ''

Des Moines Register and Tribune ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...

'', after which he moved to the ''

St. Louis Star-Times The ''St. Louis Star-Times'' was a newspaper published in St. Louis. It was founded as ''The St. Louis Sunday Sayings'' in 1884. The newspaper ended in 1951 when it was purchased by the ''St. Louis Post Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' ...

''. Hillard served as a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Lieutenant in the Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Shortly after the war, he and Fleishman decided to go into business together – the two having met years earlier when Hillard covered the civil courts for the ''Star-Times'', while Fleishman served as deputy court clerk. The firm's first offices were in modest quarters above a St. Louis

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

store. In the early years, Hillard served as the thinker, strategist, writer, and office manager for the venture while Fleishman focused on working in the community and building the business. Union Electric (now Ameren UE of St. Louis) and

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

were its first clients. Hillard stepped down as the firm's CEO in 1974, but remained active with the company and its clients until his retirement in 1982. His civic activities included presidency of the Urban League of St. Louis, as well as active involvement with the Health and Welfare Council of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Logos School of St. Louis. In 1996, Hillard and Fleishman received special lifetime achievement awards from the influential industry publication, Inside PR (now The Holmes Report.) In 1998, Hillard received a special distinguished Alumni Award from the ''

Minnesota Daily The ''Minnesota Daily'' is the campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota, published Monday and Thursday while school is in session, and published weekly on Wednesdays during summer sessions. Published since 1900, the paper is currently the la ...

,'' the University of Minnesota newspaper, where he served as editor-in-chief in 1938 and 1939. In the years following his retirement, Hillard remained active in preserving the culture of the firm he co-founded, serving as Fleishman-Hillard’s unofficial company historian and writing a column for the firm’s employee newsletter.

Personal life

Hillard died in March 2000 at his home in

Caledonia, Missouri Caledonia is a village in southern Washington County, Missouri, United States. The population was 130 at the 2010 census. Caledonia is located east of Belgrade. History Caledonia was laid out in 1819. The village is named after the Roman Empir ...

. He was 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillard, Robert E. 1917 births 2000 deaths University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Businesspeople from St. Louis People from Washington County, Missouri American public relations people 20th-century American businesspeople