Lee Iacocca
American businessman (1924–2019)
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Key Takeaways
- He was president of Chrysler from 1978 to 1991 and chairman and CEO from 1979 until his retirement at the end of 1992.
- Iacocca authored or co-authored several books, including Iacocca: An Autobiography (with William Novak), and Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
- Members of his family opened a restaurant, Yocco's Hot Dogs, which has since grown to five locations in Allentown and its suburbs.
- However, he denied the basis for his christened name in his autobiography, calling it romantic but untrue; his father, Iacocca wrote, travelled to Lido with the brother of his future wife, long before the marriage.
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( EYE-ə-KOH-kə; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American author, engineer, and an executive who developed the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and then revived the Chrysler Corporation as its CEO during the 1980s. He was president of Chrysler from 1978 to 1991 and chairman and CEO from 1979 until his retirement at the end of 1992. He was one of the few executives to preside over the operations of two of the United States' Big Three automakers.
Iacocca authored or co-authored several books, including Iacocca: An Autobiography (with William Novak), and Where Have All the Leaders Gone?.
Early life and education
Iacocca was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 15, 1924, to Nicola Iacocca and Antonietta Perrotta, Italian Americans from San Marco dei Cavoti, who settled in the steel producing region of the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania. Members of his family opened a restaurant, Yocco's Hot Dogs, which has since grown to five locations in Allentown and its suburbs. Iacocca was reportedly christened with the unusual name "Lido" because he was conceived during his parents' honeymoon in the Lido district in Venice. However, he denied the basis for his christened name in his autobiography, calling it romantic but untrue; his father, Iacocca wrote, travelled to Lido with the brother of his future wife, long before the marriage.
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