Regional Oral History Office the Bancroft Library Walter A. Haas, Jr
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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Walter A. Haas, Jr. LEV1 STRAUSS & CO. EXECUTIVE, BAY AREA PHILANTHROPIST, AND OWNER OF THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS With an Introduction by Roger W. Heyns Interviews Conducted by Ann Lage in 1994 Copyright @ 1995 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has. been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a modern research technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Walter A. Haas, Jr. dated December 8, 1994. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Walter A. Haas, Jr. requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Walter A. Haas, Jr., "Levi Strauss & Co. Executive, Bay Area Philanthropist, and Owner of the Oakland Athletics," an oral history conducted in 1994 by Ann Lage, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1995. Copy no. Cataloging information HAAS, Walter A,, Jr. (b. 1916) Corporate executive Levi Strauss L Co. Executive, Bay Area Philanthropist, and Owner of the Oakland Athletics, 1995, viii, 299 pp. Haas family background; youth, education, friendships in San Francisco; student experiences at University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard Business School, 1930s, fellow student Robert McNamara; executive with Levi Strauss L Co., 1939-1976, chairman of the board, 1971-1986: discusses critical decisions on personnel and management practices, expanding marketing and manufacturing, international division, public offering of stock, diversification, other major executives, including brother Peter Haas and son Robert D. Haas; fostering corporate social responsibility at Levi Strauss L Co. and as regional chairman, National Alliance of Businessmen, 1960s; service on corporate, foundation, and government boards and commissions, including Trilateral Commission (1980-1988), Ford Foundation (1970-1982); San Francisco Bay Area philanthropy and community service: Season of Sharing Fund, Hunters Point Boys' Club, the Guardsmen; Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund; support for University of California, Berkeley, athletic programs, Haas School of Business; pleasures of family life and outdoor recreation; San Francisco clubs: Bohemian, Pacific Union, the Family, and reflections on club functions and restrictive membership; ownership of Oakland Athletics baseball team, 1980-1995: management team of Walter J. Haas, Roy Eisenhardt, Sandy Alderson, Tony La Russa, players, economics of baseball. Appended interview with executive assistant Rita Guiney. Introduction by Roger Heyns, Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, 1965-1971; President, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 1977- 1992. Interviewed 1994 by Ann Lage. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. TABLE OF CONTENTS--Walter A. Haas, Jr. INTRODUCTION--by Roger Heyns i INTERVIEW HISTORY--by Ann Lage iv BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION viii FAMILY BACKGROUND 1 Overview: "A Most Wonderful Life" 1 Parents and Grandparents 6 Homes and Schools and Tennis 8 The Chicken Business and Other Stories 13 Religion and Responsibility 15 Meeting President Herbert Hoover 18 Campfire Stories: Three Generations of Fishing and Packing Trips 19 The Culture Side: Music and Menuhin, and Art and Rivera 2 1 Ansel Adams, and Other Family Friends 2 4 Family Traditions 26 An Appreciative Aside on Evelyn Haas 28 Ira Hirschfield 28 COLLEGE YEARS: UC BERKELEY AND HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL, 1933-1939 30 Cal Friendships and Loyalties, Bowles Hall and Alpha Delta Phi 30 College Tennis, and Academics 32 Levi'sB Jeans, the Uniform of the College Sophomore 3 4 Retrospection on Alumni Support, and on Sports 35 Jewish Identity 3 7 Robert McNamara 3 8 Surviving Harvard Business School 40 Meeting and Marrying Evelyn Danzig 42 Thoughts on Being a Parent 46 Levi Strauss & Co. Seen Through Harvard Eyes 47 The Army: Second Lieutenancy 50 I11 JOINING THE FAMILY BUSINESS, WAR STORIES, AND THE POST-WAR YEARS Levils@, the Brand Name Entering the Family Business, Valencia Street, 1939 Milton Grunbaum, and a Lesson Empathy for the Employees 98 Battery Street, Sales and Shipping Costs and Competition People Lessons from the Army And PX Responsibilities Entering Management, and Critical Early Hiring Decisions Discontinuing Wholesaling, and Anticipating Baby Boomers Differences between Dad and Dan Expanding, Advertising Developing Some Early Key Relationships Integrating Office Staff Good Coaches Made Good Salesmen Psychological Testing for Applicants The Key to the Executive John IV LEVI STRAUSS & CO. MANAGEMENT, GROWTH, AND PEOPLE, 1950s-1960s Three Generations in the Family Business Employee Stock Purchase, and Family Shareholders Memorable Early Names and Events in Manufacturing and Marketing A Negotiating Lesson from Walter Haas, Sr. Expansion to the Eastern Market and Sales Force Rivalries The Levi's Image, and the Hollywood Factor Thoughts on Transitions, Growth, and Relationships Integrating the Work Force in the South, 1950s Introducing Sta-PrestB Product Integrity Evie and the Back-to-School Levits@ Jeans "Levi's is People": The First International Convention, 1968 "Levi's is People": Remarkable Executives, Remarkable Growth An Illustration of Personal Management Style Keys to Success Art Roth Me1 Bacharach Other Key Executives Howard Friedman Ed Combs and Frank Brann The Policy of Controlled Growth Rita Guiney and the Levi Strauss & Co. Art Collection Visiting Levi Strauss & Co. Plants and People An Aside on Advertising V LEVI STRAUSS & CO.: FOCUS ON THE 1970s Where the Buck Stopped Going Public in 1971: Social Responsibility, Pricing, Embracing Growth Unanticipated Implications of Going Public Stories about Levi Strauss & Co. Shares: Nest Eggs and Campus Radicals Contributions of Outside Directors Two Women as Outside Directors Chairing the Board, 1971-1986 Lawsuit against Company Pricing Policies Two Headquarters Moves: Embarcadero Center and Levi's Plaza A Key Decision: Hiring Bob Haas, 1973 "The Kinds of Things We Do": Illustrations of Corporate Culture and Personal Philosophy Bonuses in a Billion-Dollar Year, 1975 Valencia Street Factory, Link to the Past Maverick Philosophy--Corporate Jets and Price Controls Keeping in Touch with Activist Lawyers A Lesson in Beard Bias at Cal Business School "The Fun We Had": Levi's Jeans and Football in Tennessee VI LEVI STRAUSS INTERNATIONAL Going International: The Role of Coincidence, Canada and Europe Management Problems in Europe: Growth Outstrips Controls Tom Tusher Robert Grohman A Tremendous Trademark and Problems with Imitations Cheetahs in Belgium Lessons and Company Values in the International Setting VII REFLECTIONS ON MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND LEVI STRAUSS & CO. IN THE 1980s Handling Management Mistakes or Poor Decisions Recovering from the Debacle in Europe, 1970s Misjudgments in Women's Wear and Casuals Sticking with 5018 Jeans Too Rapid Diversification Relationship with The Gap Ramifications of Selling to Sears and Penneys Painful Plant Closures "Seat of the Pants" Economics A CEO with a Marketing Orientation The Decision to Take Levi Strauss & Co. Private, 1985 The Family Buy Back, a Huge Risk The Cancelled Olympics of 1980 Request from President Jimmy Carter Ceremony at the Rose Garden A Political Maverick, with Minimal Political Involvement Haas Speeches: Humanizing the Work Force, Computerizing the Process VIII CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY A Tradition at Levi Strauss & Co. Working towards Year-round Employment at Levi Strauss & Co. Factories: An Early Decision The National Alliance of Businessmen, 1960s: A Crossroads Community Involvement Teams Other Efforts to Contribute to the Community Corporate Support for Corporate Responsibility Profit and Loss Statement on Social Responsibility Women in Management The Haas Competition at UC Berkeley A Corporation with a Conscience IX