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Frank Shrontz

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Frank Shrontz
President and Chief Executive Officer, Boeing
In office
1986–1996[1]
Preceded byThornton Wilson
Succeeded byPhilip M. Condit
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Installations and Logistics
In office
February 10, 1976 – January 19, 1977
PresidentGerald R. Ford
Preceded byJohn J. Bennett (Acting)
Succeeded byposition abolished
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations and Logistics
In office
1973–1976
PresidentRichard Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Preceded byLewis E. Turner (acting)[2]
Succeeded byJ. Gordon Knapp[3]
Personal details
Born
Frank Anderson Shrontz

(1931-12-14)December 14, 1931
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 2024(2024-05-03) (aged 92)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
SpouseHarriet A. Houghton (died 2012)[4]
EducationUniversity of Idaho (LLB)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationCorporate Executive
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1954–1956

Frank Anderson Shrontz (December 14, 1931 – May 3, 2024) was an American corporate executive and government official. He was chief executive officer and chairman of the Boeing Company. He also served in the United States Department of Defense during the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.[5]

Early life

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Born on December 14, 1931, and raised in Boise, Idaho,[6] Shrontz was the son of a sporting goods merchant. He graduated from Boise High School in 1949 and the University of Idaho in Moscow in 1954 with a Bachelor of Laws degree.[7] While there, he served as chapter president of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.[8]

Following a commission and service in the U.S. Army from 1954–1956, he attended the Harvard Business School where he received a Master of Business Administration in 1958. He worked for the Eli Lilly and Company while he was in graduate school, but accepted a job with Boeing in 1958.[9]

Career

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Beginning in 1973, Shrontz served in the United States Department of Defense during the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He returned to Boeing in January 1977 as a vice president in charge of contract administration and planning. He later became a division head managing production of 707, 727, and 737 aircraft.

During the oil crisis of the 1970s, he was a proponent of the mid-range 737 jetliner rather than the longer range and more fuel efficient 757 and 767.[10] This was a successful decision financially, as stabilizing oil prices and airline deregulation soon led the 737 to become Boeing's top selling airframe.[11] The move was later described "either lucky or prescient."[12]

Shrontz became president of Boeing in 1984 and served as CEO from 1986–1996. He was chairman of the board from 1988 to 1997.[13] His tenure started on a high note, but followed by the 1990-1991 recession and the end of the Cold War, whilst Shrontz pushed Boeing into the space industry and a contract to build parts of the International Space Station.[14] 777, designed from the ground up and in five years, was the first major result of Shrontz’s restructuring: earning the company hundreds of billions of dollars, compared to the 4 billion it cost to develop.[15]

In 1996, Shrontz was succeeded as CEO by Phil Condit.[16]

Shrontz served on the boards of 3M, Boise Cascade Corporation, and Chevron, and as a citizen regent on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents.[17] He was part of the group that purchased the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball in 1992, and was on the team's board of directors.[6][18]

While he was serving on the board of directors of Chevron, a new double-hulled supertanker was named in his honor in November 1998.[19] The South Korean-built ship was renamed the Antares Voyager in 2003 after it changed owners.[20][21]

Personal life

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Shrontz married Harriet Ann Houghton, whom he met at the University of Idaho, in 1954. They had three sons, and were married for 58 years. She died in 2012.[22] Shrontz was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2004. Boeing endowed the Frank Shrontz Endowed Chair of Professional Ethics at Seattle University beginning in 1997.[13] He was awarded the Oxford Cup, Beta Theta Pi's most prestigious award, in 1999.[6][17]

Shrontz died in Seattle on May 3, 2024, at the age of 92.[23][6][24]

References

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  1. ^ "Aerospace Pioneers: Boeing leaders through the years" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "The United States Government Manual (1973–1974)". Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "The United States Government Manual (1976–1977)". Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Harriet Shrontz, arts supporter, wife of former Boeing CEO". August 4, 2012. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  5. ^ "Former Boeing CEO and Seattle Mariners co-owner Frank Shrontz dies aged 92". Reuters. May 6, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Seattle Mariners statement on the passing of partner Frank Shrontz". MLB.com. May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "College of Law". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1954. p. 239. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "Beta Theta Pi". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1954. p. 129. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Lane, Polly (April 14, 1996). "The Shrontz Years -- Boeing Leader's Push for Change Has Left the Company Headed for a Strong Future". The Seattle Times.
  10. ^ "Former Boeing CEO and Seattle Mariners co-owner Frank Shrontz dies aged 92". Reuters. May 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "The Biggest Bosses 36. Frank Schrontz Boeing Cool, Calm, and Lawyerly". CNN Money - Fortune Magazine. August 3, 1987. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Ramirez, Anthony (August 3, 1987). "THE BIGGEST BOSSES 36. FRANK SHRONTZ BOEING COOL, CALM, AND LAWYERLY". money.cnn.com. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Albers School of Business and Economics - Frank Schrontz Chair". seattle.edu. 2021. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Risen, Clay (May 22, 2024). "Frank Shrontz, 92, Dies; Led Boeing in the Last of Its Golden Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Risen, Clay (May 22, 2024). "Frank Shrontz, 92, Dies; Led Boeing in the Last of Its Golden Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  16. ^ Peltz, James F. (February 27, 1996). "Boeing President Named to Succeed Chief Executive". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Frank Anderson Shrontz, Idaho '53, Oxford Cup Roll No. 037" (PDF). Beta.org. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Baker, Geoff (September 25, 2011). "Mariners' nearly invisible owners stand firmly behind struggling team". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 8, 2024. Other owners on the board include Yamauchi's son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, as well as chief minority shareholder Larson and local business magnates Frank Shrontz, Wayne Perry and Rob Glaser.
  19. ^ Press release Archived November 8, 2003, at the Wayback Machine - November 30, 1998 - accessed April 10, 2010
  20. ^ aukvisser.nl Archived December 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine - supertankers - accessed April 10, 2010
  21. ^ "Frank A. Shrontz". Archived from the original on March 27, 2006. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  22. ^ "Harriet Shrontz, arts supporter, wife of former Boeing CEO". seattletimes.com. 2012. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Rise, Clay (May 22, 2024). "Frank Shrontz, 92, Dies; Led Boeing in the Last of Its Golden Years". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  24. ^ "Frank Shrontz, former CEO and chairman of Boeing dies at 92". The Seattle Times. May 4, 2024. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
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Business positions
Preceded by CEO of Boeing
1986–1996 		Succeeded by
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