William F. Farley

William F. Farley (born October 10, 1942) is an American businessman, financier and philanthropist. He is the sole owner of Farley Industries, a private equity firm based in Chicago, and a co-owner of the Chicago White Sox. For 15 years (1985–99), he was the chairman and CEO of Fruit of the Loom until he was ousted by the board of directors on August 30, 1999. He is currently the founder, CEO and majority owner of Zrii, a multilevel marketing company based in Salt Lake City.

Biography

Early life and education

Farley was born the elder of two children to a working-class Irish Catholic family on October 10, 1942, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He was the son of John Farley, a postal worker and part-time musician, and Barbara Farley, a receptionist.Chiappinelli, Bob (July 13, 1986). "Pawtucket's Horatio Alger" ''Providence Sunday Journal''

Farley attended grade school at St. Leo's School in Pawtucket and later became a recruited high school athlete and student at St. Raphael Academy, his father's high school. He graduated from St. Raphael's in 1960.Klein, Amy (May 11, 1998). "School's benefactor renames building for his mother", ''The Providence Journal-Bulletin''.

Farley attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, from 1960–64, where he majored in government and earned an academic scholarship. At Bowdoin, he was a varsity athlete in football, swimming, and baseball.Sheridan, Mike (April 1986). "Profile: William F. Farley." ''Echelon Magazine''.

Professional career

Early years

After graduating from Bowdoin in 1964, Farley traveled across the U.S. and Mexico for six months, eventually settling in Los Angeles.Labich, Kenneth (May 27, 1985). "Bill Farley Has A Dream Machine" ''Fortune'' In Los Angeles, Farley sold Collier's Encyclopedia door to door. Within two years he was the company's leading salesman, and was appointed head of training for the national sales force."Bill Farley Casts a Wide Net for Companies." ''Financial Enterprise'' Summer 1983

NL Industries and Lehman Brothers

After attending Boston College Law School, Farley moved to New York City, where he took a job in the mergers and acquisitions division of NL Industries, a manufacturing company with a number of subsidiaries. At NL Industries, Farley did analysis on potential acquisition targets and rose in director of long range planning and acquisitions. In 1972, Farley was transferred to Chicago, where he functioned as the regional manager of NL Industries' metals division.

Farley Industries

In 1976, while Farley was working at Lehman Brothers, NL Industries was searching for a potential buyer for Anaheim Citrus Products Co., a small subsidiary that produced pectin, a thickening agent used in foods and other products. In October 1976, aged 34, he executed his first leveraged buyout for $1.9 million. To facilitate the buyout, Farley founded Farley Industries, a private holdings company in the Sears Tower in Chicago. After six months, Farley had raised the funds for the buyout, including his life savings of $25,000, plus $1.7 million in loans and notes borrowed against the company assets.

Within two years after the buyout, Farley had doubled Anaheim Citrus sales. In 1977, Farley purchased Baumfolder Corporation, a struggling manufacturing company, using funds from equipment sales at Anaheim Citrus. Farley quit Lehman Brothers and moved to Ohio to oversee the Baumfolder turnaround. He later sold Baumfolder to its employees for $10 million.

In 1982, Farley purchased NL Metals, the same group he used to run at NL. The purchase price was $118 million, making NL Metals the first in a line of significantly larger acquisitions that Farley would make over the next decade.

Farley Industries soon encompassed numerous companies within the manufacturing, mining, and apparel industries. The largest acquisition was Northwest Industries, for $1.4 billion in July 1985.C.S. (January 26, 1987). "The Buyout Man" ''U.S. News & World Report'' Farley Industries had 50,000 employees and nearly $4 billion in annual sales by the late 1980s.

West Point Pepperell

In 1988, Farley completed a hostile takeover of West Point Pepperell, Inc., a textile company that had been family-owned in West Point, Georgia, and surrounding communities for more than 100 years. Farley paid $1.5 billion for the company, eclipsing the mark of $1.4 billion he had paid a year prior for Northwest Industries. Farley financed his purchase of 95.3 percent of the company through bank debt and high-yield bonds. Less than four years later, the company filed for bankruptcy, and Farley resigned.

Fruit of the Loom

Though Farley eventually sold most businesses within the Farley/Northwest Holding Corp. conglomerate, he kept Fruit of the Loom Inc."Bill Farley: The Hands-On Conglomerator" ''Industry Week'' June 15, 1987.

In March 1987, Farley completed a successful $565 million public offering of Fruit of the Loom shares.Delaney, Patricia (1997). "Farley Chair in Legal Studies Endowed" ''Boston College Chronicle''

During his tenure at Fruit of the Loom Farley pushed to move the majority of Fruit of the Loom's manufacturing outside of the US. In 1998 a class-action lawsuit by a New England–based health care employees pension fund alleged that Farley had misled investors to engage in insider trading.

Farley served as president and CEO of Fruit of the Loom from 1985-99, when he was ousted by the board of directors.

Zrii, LLC

In May 2007, Farley launched a brand-new multi-level marketing health and beauty company based out of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Zrii, a Sanskrit word which means "light, luster, splendor, and prosperity", was endorsed by lifestyle guru Deepak Chopra and the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. The basis of its namesake product was a juice extracted from the amalaki fruit, which is grown exclusively in India at the base of the Himalayas.Harvey, Tom (May 23, 2008). "Draper Company Launches Zrii; Says It's A Healthful Juice" ''The Salt Lake Tribune''

In February 2009, 35 employees staged a walkout of Zrii headquarters and demanded that Farley resign.. In December 2009, Farley won $400,000 in a settlement agreement with LifeVantage Corporation, where many of his former employees were hired.

Management style

Farley spent over $3 million a year on programs at his subsidiaries that encouraged physical fitness, good nutrition, and smoking cessation. He traveled to work sites and solicited employees' opinions about the quality of their food and facilities, making improvements as suggested by employees.

Farley installed baseball fields, tracks, and other fitness facilities at plants and factories.

Politics

Farley supports Republican political candidates. In 2016 he donated over $10,000 to the Donald Trump Victory fund.

Philanthropic activity

A firm believer in education, Farley has contributed millions of dollars to his alma maters. His largest single contribution was a $3.5 million gift to Bowdoin College in 1984, which resulted in Farley Field House, an indoor athletic facility with a track, indoor tennis courts, and spectator areas."Farley Honored with Horatio Alger Award." ''Bowdoin Orient'' 1986. He also founded scholarship programs for students at Boston College Law School,Brayton, Steve (January 27, 1985). "Kindness to Workers Farley's Key to Success", ''The Boston Herald''. and made a $1.5 million donation to endow the William F. Farley Chair at the law school. In May 1996, Farley made a $1 million donation to his high school, St. Raphael Academy, which went toward science and computer resources, tuition assistance, and the athletic department. In 1998 and in honor of Farley's contributions to the school, the West Annex Building at St. Raphael was renamed Barbara Farley Hall, in honor of Farley's mother.

Farley has made numerous contributions over the years to the American Heart Association, and he's been a donor to and board member of various civic and cultural organizations in his adopted hometown of Chicago, Illinois (including the Goodman Theatre, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations). He has also sat on the board of directors for the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.

Awards and honors

*1984: Farley was recognized as Outstanding Business Graduate of the Year by the Boston College Law School Alumni Association.
*1986: Farley received the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans award. The award was given to "community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence, as exemplified by remarkable achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity."
*1988: Farley was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame; he was also honored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as a Business/Community Honoree of the Year.
*1997: Honored by the Ireland-U.S. Council for Commerce and Industry for outstanding achievement for his work in economics, business, and commercial activity. He also received the White House's Presidential Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
*2008: Farley was honored with a Freedom Award from America's Freedom Festival at Provo at Provo.Davis, James (July 3, 2008). "Festival Salutes 4 Heroes", ''Deseret News''.

Personal life

In the 1980s, Farley became a minority owner of the Chicago White Sox.

Farley was an active member in the Young Presidents Organization; he is currently a member of the World Presidents Organization. He has also been a member of the Chicago Club and the University Associates of Northwestern University for years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farley, William F.
1942 births
Living people
American retail chief executives
Businesspeople from Rhode Island
American philanthropists
Boston College Law School alumni
Bowdoin College alumni