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University of California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Walter A. Haas, Jr. LEVI 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 of California Copyright 1995 by The Regents of the University 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. Walter A. Haas, Jr., 1988. Cataloging information HAAS, Walter A., Jr. (b. 1916) Corporate executive Levi Strauss & 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 & 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 & 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 I 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 21 Ansel Adams, and Other Family Friends 24 Family Traditions 26 An Appreciative Aside on Evelyn Haas 28 Ira Hirschfield 28 II 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's Jeans, the Uniform of the College Sophomore 34 Retrospection on Alumni Support, and on Sports 35 Jewish Identity 37 Robert McNamara 38 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 III JOINING THE FAMILY BUSINESS, WAR STORIES, AND THE POST-WAR YEARS 52 Levi's, the Brand Name 52 Entering the Family Business, Valencia Street, 1939 53 Milton Grunbaum, and a Lesson 54 Empathy for the Employees 56 98 Battery Street, Sales and Shipping 58 Costs and Competition 59 People Lessons from the Army 60 And PX Responsibilities 61 Entering Management, and Critical Early Hiring Decisions 63 Discontinuing Wholesaling, and Anticipating Baby Boomers 65 Differences between Dad and Dan 67 Expanding, Advertising 68 Developing Some Early Key Relationships 69 Integrating Office Staff Good Coaches Made Good Salesmen Psychological Testing for Applicants 74 The Key to the Executive John 75 IV LEVI STRAUSS & CO. MANAGEMENT, GROWTH, AND PEOPLE, 1950s- 1960s 76 Three Generations in the Family Business 76 Employee Stock Purchase, and Family Shareholders Memorable Early Names and Events in Manufacturing and Marketing 79 A Negotiating Lesson from Walter Haas, Sr. 82 Expansion to the Eastern Market and Sales Force Rivalries 83 The Levi's Image, and the Hollywood Factor 84 Thoughts on Transitions, Growth, and Relationships 86 Integrating the Work Force in the South, 1950s 88 Introducing Sta-Prest 90 Product Integrity 92 Evie and the Back-to-School Levi's Jeans 93 "Levi's is People": The First International Convention, 1968 94 "Levi's is People": Remarkable Executives, Remarkable Growth 96 An Illustration of Personal Management Style 98 Keys to Success 98 Art Roth Mel Bacharach 99 Other Key Executives 100 Howard Friedman Ed Combs and Frank Brann 101 The Policy of Controlled Growth 102 Rita Guiney and the Levi Strauss & Co. Art Collection 103 Visiting Levi Strauss & Co. Plants and People 104 An Aside on Advertising 104 V LEVI STRAUSS & CO.: FOCUS ON THE 1970s 106 Where the Buck Stopped 106 Going Public in 1971: Social Responsibility, Pricing, Embracing Growth 107 Unanticipated Implications of Going Public 111 Stories about Levi Strauss & Co. Shares: Nest Eggs and Campus Radicals 113 Contributions of Outside Directors 114 Two Women as Outside Directors 115 Chairing the Board, 1971-1986 Lawsuit against Company Pricing Policies 118 Two Headquarters Moves: Embarcadero Center and Levi's Plaza 120 A Key Decision: Hiring Bob Haas, 1973 122 "The Kinds of Things We Do": Illustrations of Corporate Culture and Personal Philosophy 123 Bonuses in a Billion-Dollar Year, 1975 123 Valencia Street Factory, Link to the Past 123 Maverick PhilosophyCorporate Jets and Price Controls 125 Keeping in Touch with Activist Lawyers 126 A Lesson in Beard Bias at Cal Business School 127 "The Fun We Had": Levi's Jeans and Football in Tennessee 129 VI LEVI STRAUSS INTERNATIONAL 130 Going International: The Role of Coincidence, Canada and Europe 130 Management Problems in Europe: Growth Outstrips Controls 132 Tom Tusher 134 Robert Grohman 134 A Tremendous Trademark and Problems with Imitations 135 Cheetahs in Belgium 137 Lessons and Company Values in the International Setting 138 VII REFLECTIONS ON MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND LEVI STRAUSS & CO. IN THE 1980s 140 Handling Management Mistakes or Poor Decisions 140 Recovering from the Debacle in Europe, 1970s 140 Mis judgments in Women's Wear and Casuals 141 Sticking with 501 Jeans 142 Too Rapid Diversification 143 Relationship with The Gap 143 Ramifications of Selling to Sears and Penneys 144 Painful Plant Closures 146 "Seat of the Pants" Economics 147 A CEO with a Marketing Orientation 147 The Decision to Take Levi Strauss & Co. Private, 1985 148 The Family Buy Back, a Huge Risk 149 The Cancelled Olympics of 1980 151 Request from President Jimmy Carter 151 Ceremony at the Rose Garden 152 A Political Maverick, with Minimal Political Involvement 153 Haas Speeches: Humanizing the Work Force, Computerizing the Process 154 VIII CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 156 A Tradition at Levi Strauss & Co. 156 Working towards