Lester Lum "Tex" Colbert (June 13, 1905 – September 15, 1995) was an American automobile executive who was president, chairman, and chief executive of the

Chrysler Corporation Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

Early life

Colbert was born to Sallye (Driver) and Lum Hebert Colbert on June 13, 1905, in

Oakwood, Texas Oakwood is a town in Leon and Freestone counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 389 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1872 as a stop on the International Railroad. Geography Oakwood is located in northeastern Leon Count ...

. While in high school, Colbert worked as a cotton buyer. He graduated from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 1925 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1929. On November 23, 1928, Colbert married his childhood sweetheart, Daisy Gorman. They had three children.

Career

After graduating from Harvard, Colbert clerked for the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

firm of Rathbone, Perry, Kelley, and Drye, which was the general counsel for the Chrysler Corporation. When Chrysler decided to hire an

in-house counsel A corporate lawyer or corporate counsel is a type of lawyer who specializes in corporate law. Corporate lawyers working inside and for corporations are called in-house counsel. Roles and responsibilities The role of a corporate lawyer is to ...

in 1933, Colbert was chosen for the job. He was mentored by Chrysler head

K. T. Keller Kaufman Thuma Keller, commonly known as K. T. Keller (27 November 188521 January 1966), was an American corporate executive who served as the president of Chrysler Corporation from 1935 to 1950 and as its chairman of the board from 1950 to 1956. ...

, who had Colbert learn about mechanics, engineering, and production, as well as handle labor negotiations and other legal duties. In 1935, Colbert was named vice president of the Dodge division. In 1943, he was put in charge of the new Dodge Chicago Plant and oversaw the construction of most of the B-29 bomber aircraft engines used in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. On December 27, 1945, he was promoted to president of Dodge. In 1949 he was made a vice president and director of the Chrysler Corporation. On November 3, 1950, it was announced that Keller was elected chairman of the board of directors and Colbert would succeed him as the company's president and chief executive. Colbert led the company during prosperous times fueled by the post–World War II economic boom. In August 1955, the company reported all-time records for six months with sales of $1.8 billion, earnings of $70 million, and unit sales of 900,546 cars and trucks (surpassing the prior six-month record of 804,884 cars and trucks). However, by 1958, sales had dropped sharply, with only 165,059 vehicles being sold during the first quarter, and the company posted a loss. On April 28, 1960, Colbert was elected chairman of the board and was succeeded as president by

William C. Newberg William Charles Newberg (December 17, 1910 – December 7, 2003) was an American automotive executive who served as president of Chrysler. His tenure lasted only two months due to a conflict of interest scandal. Early life Newberg was born on Dec ...

. Colbert retained his position as the company's chief executive. Not long after Newberg took office, Colbert instructed the company's general counsel and independent auditors to look into Newberg's interests in vendor companies. On June 30, 1960, Newberg unexpectedly resigned after two months on the job. On July 21, the board of directors announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with Newberg over $450,000 in profits he had made from his stake in two parts suppliers. A second company executive, Jack W. Minor, was forced to resign from his position as director of marketing for the

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

– DeSoto–

Valiant Valiant may refer to: People * James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer * The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers ** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010) ** Jimmy V ...

division after it was found he received $20,000 in sales commissions on Chrysler contracts from two transportation advertising companies he held ownership in. On January 27, 1961, Colbert disclosed that his wife had owned 444 shares in a Chrysler supplier. On July 27, 1961, Colbert announced he was resigning as chairman and president "for the good of the corporation". He was succeeded as chairman by

George H. Love George H. Love (September 4, 1900 – July 25, 1991) was a businessman and industrialist who was in control of two major corporations—the Consolidation Coal Company and the Chrysler Corporation—and lead both back to profitability.

and as president by

Lynn A. Townsend Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn ...

. Colbert remained with the company as chairman of

Chrysler Canada Stellantis Canada (formerly, FCA Canada, Inc. and Chrysler Canada) is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell ...

until his retirement on June 30, 1965.

Later life

Colbert's wife died in 1970. In 1972, he married Robert Ellen Corbin Hoke and they settled in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flo ...

. Colbert died on September 15, 1995, in Naples.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert, Lester Lum 1905 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American chief executives in the automobile industry Chrysler executives Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from Detroit Lawyers from New York City People from Oakwood, Texas University of Texas alumni People from Naples, Florida