Lee Iacocca, the U.S. auto executive and television pitchman whose feel for consumers’ changing tastes helped produce the Ford Mustang and the Chrysler minivan and made him one of the first celebrity CEOs, has died. He was 94. His death was confirmed Tuesday by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a statement. The cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to the Washington Post, citing his daughter Lia Iacocca Assad. Studied in business schools, emulated by a generation of executives, Iacocca was a star salesman for cars and for himself, spurring periodic talk of running for president. (He never did.) His autobiography was by far the top-selling hardcover nonfiction book of 1984 and 1985, according to the New York Times. For more than three decades, since his appointment by President Ronald Reagan, he led the effort that has raised more than $700 million to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. “Lee Iacocca was truly bigger than life and he left an indelible mark on Ford, the auto industry and our country,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement. “I will always appreciate how encouraging he was to me at the beginning of my career. He was one of a kind and will be dearly missed.” Iacocca arguably ushered in the era of the celebrity auto executive, with others such as Sergio Marchionne, Elon Musk and Carlos Ghosn following in his footsteps. Marchionne died last year, and Ghosn fell from grace in November after his arrest for financial... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'
[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-03 14:58:55 UTC ]
The sudden death has been announced of Irish bookseller John McNamee, president of the European Booksellers Federation from 2005 to 2014. McNamee is understood to have suffered a heart attack at the weekend. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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