Robert Schantz Oelman (June 9, 1909 – May 10, 2007) was an American executive who served as president of
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...
for 17 years as they switched to electronic
cash registers.
Oelman graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1931, before attending
University of Vienna, where he met his wife Mary Coolidge. He joined the National Cash Register Company in 1933 as a file clerk, became president in 1957, and later chairman and chief executive. Oelman retired from NCR in 1974 but remained on in an advisory capacity until 1980.
He was also a founder of
Wright State University
Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...
in 1967.
In 1968, Oelman became Ohio Republican chairman for the unsuccessful presidential campaign of
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
, a fellow
Dartmouth College alumnus.
Oelman also served as chairman of the finance committee of
Ford Motor Company, and in 1978 was asked by
Henry Ford II to try resolve a conflict with president of the company
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...
. This was never achieved and Iacocca went on to become president of Chrysler.
Oelman died in
Delray Beach, Florida.
References
External links
WSU Founder Robert Oelmanvia Wright State
1909 births
2007 deaths
Dartmouth College alumni
NCR Corporation people
20th-century American businesspeople
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