Robert Carl Stempel (July 15, 1933 – May 7, 2011) was chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM) from August1990 to November1992. He joined GM in 1958 as a design engineer at
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
and was key in the development of the
front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitu ...
Toronado. He was also involved with the team that created the first
catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox chemic ...
.
Background and personal life
Stempel was born July 15, 1933 in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.
He graduated from Bloomfield High School in New Jersey in 1951. During his teen years, he worked as a mechanic in
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.
History
The initial patent for the land that w ...
to earn his college tuition by fixing his fellow students' cars. He received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now has 14 ac ...
in 1955 where he had been a tackle on the football team. He attended night classes and earned an MBA from Michigan State University in 1970 and later received an honorary doctorate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Stempel was a member of the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
, the
Society of Automotive Engineers
SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...
American Society for Quality Control
The American Society for Quality (ASQ), formerly the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), is a society of quality professionals, with nearly 80,000 members.
History
ASQC was established on 16 February 1946 by 253 members in Milwaukee, ...
. He was a member of the board of directors and chairman of the National Industrial Advisory Council to the
Opportunities Industrialization Center
Opportunities Industrialization Center (usually shortened to “OIC” and doing business as OIC of America, Inc. and OIC International, Inc.) is a nonprofit adult education and job training organization headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...
s of America, Inc.; the National Minority Supplier Development Council; and the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association; the Highway Users Federation and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. He was a member of Detroit's Conference Board, The
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BR ...
, and The Business Council and he was a trustee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Detroit Renaissance, and New Detroit, Inc.
In November 1975, Stempel's son Timothy, 13, had been kidnapped. Stempel received a ransom demand of $150,000, which he paid. His son was later freed and kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
Stempel enjoyed attending auto races and motorsports events, and working on his cars, including his 1974 Corvette. He also enjoyed skiing and surf-casting. Prior to his death, the Stempels lived and raised horses in
Loxahatchee, Florida
Loxahatchee is an unincorporated community in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located north of Wellington, and west and northwest of Royal Palm Beach, approximately west of West Palm Beach. Loxahatchee is also the name of the Post Off ...
and
Oxford, Michigan
Oxford is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,436 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Oxford Township. Located about north of Detroit, it is a northern suburb of the Metro Detroit r ...
.
Stempel died in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
on May 7, 2011 at the age of 77. With his wife Pat (née Patricia Bachmann), he had three children, a daughter Barbara and sons Timothy and Peter.
Early career at General Motors
After serving two years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Stempel joined GM's Oldsmobile Division as a senior detailer in the chassis design department in 1958, later serving as senior designer (1962); transmission design engineer (1964); motor engineer (1969); and assistant chief engineer (1972). Stempel subsequently worked on the team that developed the 1966 Toronado, the first modern American front-wheel-drive car. According to a GM biography, Stempel designed the Toronado's front suspension and its engine and transmission mounting system.
Stempel joined the engineering department of the Chevrolet Division as chief engineer in 1974 and was named Chevrolet's director of engineering in 1975. In 1978, Stempel was appointed general manager of the Pontiac Motor Division where he worked on the Fiero – which used a plastic-body/space frame technology that became integral to GM's subsequent minivans and the Saturn lineup. In 1980, he was moved into the Managing Director position at
Adam Opel AG
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA G ...
, the German subsidiary of GM. In 1982, he returned to Detroit as General Manager of Chevrolet.
In January 1984, he was promoted to the dual responsibility of Vice President and Group Executive in Charge of the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac group. He was elected to the board of directors (February, 1986) and became CEO (August, 1990) where he served until he was voted out in 1992 – shortly after a recession when GM had closed a dozen plants, lost 74,000 jobs and lost $7 billion.
Though he suffered a heart attack soon after leaving GM in 1992, Stempel continued to visit the North American International Auto Show and continued to maintain his interest and passion for automobiles and the automobile industry.
Later career
In 1993, Stempel joined Stanford Ovshinsky, founder of Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) as an adviser. Stempel was named chairman in 1995.
Shortly after Stempel became chairman, ECD partnered engineered and provided the nickel-metal hydride batteries powered the EV-1. In 1999, ECD partnered with
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
in a joint-venture called ''Ovonyx'' which developed nonsilicon-based memory for electronic devices for Intel,
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, a ...
and BAE Systems. Subsequently, ECD formed joint ventures with Texaco Energy Systems Inc., GE Plastics and Belgium-based N.V. Bekaert S.A. The promising technologies were unfortunately met with losses. Before retiring in 2007, Stempel was chairman of Energy Conversion for almost 12 years.
Ovshinsky called Stempel "a visionary who saw the need for the U.S. to be independent of foreign oil." Before retiring in 2007, Stempel was chairman of Energy Conversion for almost 12 years.
At the time of his death, Stempel served on the board of directors of ''Envia Systems'', a
Newark, California
Newark is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in September 1955. Newark is an enclave, surrounded by the city of Fremont. The three cities of Newark, Fremont, and Union City make up the Tri-City ...
-based company that provided GM's battery engineering team with access to advanced lithium-ion cathode technology delivering higher cell energy density and lower cost. In March 2010, he joined the board of directors of Genesis Fluid Solutions Holdings, a water purification company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
He died in May 2011.