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The Whiz Kids were a group of ten
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
veterans of
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 ...
who became
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
executives in 1946.
The group was part of a
management science
Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...
operation within the Army Air Force known as Statistical Control, organized to coordinate all the operational and logistical information required to manage the waging of war. They participated in the broader revolution in logistical and organizational science that World War II fostered. After the war, some of the group discussed opportunities to go into business together.
Members
They were led by their commanding officer,
Charles B. "Tex" Thornton. The others were:
* Wilbur Andreson — left after two years to return to California and became an executive with
Bekins Van Lines
Bekins Van Lines, Inc. is an American domestic and international private and corporate household goods relocation service provider. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Bekins also offers special commodities and logistic services. The United St ...
.
* Charles Bosworth, retired as director of purchasing.
*
J. Edward Lundy
J. Edward Lundy (January 6, 1915 – October 2, 2007) was an American automobile executive who became the chief financial officer of Ford Motor Company.
Lundy was one of the Whiz Kids, a group of 10 young and ambitious veterans of the United ...
, retired as chief financial officer — he remained at Ford through the 1970s and was known as one of the most powerful people in the company and as a confidant of
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...
.
*
Robert S. McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...
, who eventually became the president of Ford. He then became the
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
and the President of the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
.
*
Arjay Miller
Arjay Miller (March 4, 1916 – November 3, 2017) was one of the ten Whiz Kids hired by Henry Ford II of the Ford Motor Company. He served as president of Ford Motor Company between 1963 and 1968, until he was abruptly fired by Henry Ford II ...
, rose through finance and became Ford president in the mid 1960s. After being dismissed in favor of
Bunkie Knudsen
Semon Emil "Bunkie" Knudsen (October 2, 1912 – July 6, 1998) was an American automobile executive.
Early life
Semon Emil Knudsen was born on October 2, 1912 in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of former General Motors President, and Army thr ...
, an executive recruited from
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, he became the dean of the
Stanford Business School
The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...
.
* Ben Mills, became general manager of Lincoln-Mercury Division.
* George Moore, left after two years to become an automobile dealer.
* Francis "Jack" Reith, became head of the ailing Ford of France (
Ford SAF
Ford France (formerly, Ford SAF, Ford Société Anonyme Française) is the French subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed under various names between 1916 and 1954, when Ford sold the manufacturing business to Simca. ...
) in 1953 and was a rising star after restructuring it and selling it off in 1955 to
Simca
Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...
. Subsequently he was the executive responsible for the
Mercury Turnpike Cruiser
The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is a series of automobiles that were produced by the Mercury division of Ford for the 1957 and 1958 model years. Named to commemorate the creation of the Interstate Highway System, the Turnpike Cruiser was marketed ...
and heavily involved in the
Edsel
Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effor ...
, both sales failures. Reith left the company to run the Crosley Division of Avco in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, later renamed AVCO Electronics Division. Reith committed suicide a few years later. AVCO Electronics was subsequently bought out by George Mealey in 1973 and renamed Cincinnati Electronics; in 1981 it was sold to
GEC England.
* James Wright, eventually head of Ford division and the car and truck group. Retired in the early 1960s after a power struggle with executive John Dykstra.
* George Agor, was a statistician in the Air Force stationed in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
of Alaska. He was invited and attended the first Whiz Kids meeting that was designated for a time and place. Robert McNamara had arrived a day or so earlier and successfully lobbied to be group leader. George ultimately decided this path was not for him and returned home to
Mahopac
Mahopac ( or ) is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the town of Carmel in Putnam County, New York, United States. Also known as Lake Mahopac, the exurb is located some north of New York City, on US Route 6 at the county's southern centr ...
, NY and later retired as Trust Officer of the State Bank of Albany.
Origins
The group was part of a management science operation within the Army Air Force known as Statistical Control, organized to coordinate all the operational and logistical information required to wage war. Thornton had been recommended to the assistant secretary of War,
Robert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett (September 14, 1895May 7, 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, having been promoted to this position from Deputy Secretary of Defense. He served in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 ...
, by a mutual acquaintance who thought Lovett would find use for the ambitious and energetic Thornton. Upon finding mass confusion, Thornton developed the idea of an information gathering organization within the service and gained Lovett's support to create the organization, which recruited and trained officer candidates who were selected through intelligence testing. After the war, some of the group discussed opportunities to go into business together.
Thornton wrote to several corporations, offering their services as a group — all ten, or nothing.
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...
had recently taken over the company from his ailing grandfather and, needing management help badly, agreed.
Starting at Ford
The group initially worked together as one organization, the planning department, headed by Thornton. McNamara was Thornton's deputy; Miller focused on reports for senior management, Lundy on financial planning, Mills on facility and program plans, Reith on administrative budgets, and Wright, Moore and Bosworth on administrative issues. Over a few years, they all attracted favorable attention for their work, and some began to move on to other assignments.
The "Whiz Kids" helped the company to implement sophisticated management control systems to govern the company, control costs, and review strategic progress. They also instituted modern recruitment and training programs and career planning aimed to provide Ford Motors with a Financial Talent pool.
After Ford
Seven of the ten went on to senior management positions. Thornton left Ford in 1948 due to personality conflicts with executives
Ernie Breech
Ernest Robert Breech (1897–1978) was an American corporate executive. Although he is best remembered for his work in revitalizing Ford Motor Company in the years following World War II, he served similar roles at Trans World Airlines and other co ...
and
Lewis Crusoe
Lewis D. Crusoe was an automobile executive for Ford Motor Company in the 1950s.
Crusoe had been an executive for General Motors, and was recruited to come to Ford by Ernie Breech, a GM executive brought in by Henry Ford II. He became the vice- ...
, moving on to
Hughes Aircraft
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting p ...
, and later was head of
Litton Industries
Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr.
During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...
. McNamara went on to become the
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
under President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, and the team he built there
inherited the "Whiz Kids" name and carried on a similar
ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
of operations research.
Further reading
*{{cite book , title=The Whiz Kids , first=John A. , last=Byrne , year=1993 , isbn=0-385-24804-0 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/whizkidsfounding00byrn
External links
Detroit News article roken link as of Dec. 30, 2011br>
J. Edward Lundy bio in Automotive Hall of FameThe Whiz Kids: How 10 Men Saved America (and Then Almost Destroyed It)
Ford executives
American manufacturing businesspeople