Alfred Sloan
Born 1875 · Age 151
Longtime president, chairman and CEO of General Motors; pioneering corporate manager; founder of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; author of My Years with General Motors.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in New Haven, Connecticut
Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. born to Alfred P. Sloan Sr. and Katherine Mead Sloan.
Family moved to Brooklyn
Sloan family relocated to Brooklyn (near father's Manhattan business).
Entered Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (prep)
Attended Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (college-preparatory course) at age 11.
Matriculated at MIT
Admitted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study electrical engineering.
Graduated MIT, BS in Electrical Engineering
Completed MIT degree in 3 years as one of the youngest graduates.
Hired as draftsman at Hyatt Roller Bearing
Began career at Hyatt Roller Bearing Company in Newark, NJ as a draftsman.
Left Hyatt for refrigeration firm
Joined a refrigeration company (Hygienic Refrigerator Co.) which later failed after the owner died.
Married Irene Jackson
Married Irene Jackson of Roxbury, Massachusetts; couple had no children.
Became president/owner of Hyatt Roller Bearing
Sloan's father and a partner purchased Hyatt for $5,000 and installed Sloan as president and manager.
Hyatt returns to profit under Sloan
Under Sloan and partner Pete Steenstrup Hyatt turned profitable (reports of $12,000 profit in six months in early years).
Quality meeting with Henry Leland (Cadillac)
Henry Leland rebuked Hyatt for inconsistent tolerances; Sloan improved manufacturing leading to mass-production insights.
Ford Model T adopts Hyatt bearings (major customer)
Hyatt bearings used in Ford Model T; for a time over half of Hyatt sales went to Ford.
Hyatt merged into/ sold to United Motors (Durant)
Hyatt merged with other auto-accessory firms into United Motors; sale price reported around $13.5M to Durant/United Motors.
Named President of United Motors
Sloan appointed president of the newly combined United Motors, overseeing accessories and parts businesses.
United Motors acquired by General Motors; Sloan becomes GM VP
United Motors merged into GM; Sloan became vice-president in charge of accessories and an important GM stockholder.
GM launches executive bonus plan
GM introduced an executive bonus plan to incentivize managers (early corporate compensation reform).
Founded General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC)
Sloan and deputies created GMAC, pioneering consumer auto financing and time-payment auto loans.
European fact-finding trip with GM executives
Traveled with GM leaders (including Walter Chrysler) to Europe to study foreign firms (e.g., Citroën) and strategy.
Organization Study and rise in GM influence
Sloan submitted his 'Organization Study' to Pierre S. du Pont and became an assistant — blueprint for GM decentralization.
Elected President and CEO of General Motors
Sloan succeeded Pierre S. du Pont as GM president and became GM's chief executive; implemented decentralized divisions with centralized financial controls.
Featured on Time magazine cover
Sloan appeared on the cover of Time (Dec 27, 1926), recognition of national business stature.
GM overtakes Ford; Chevrolet rises as volume leader
During Sloan's strategy GM's brand ladder and styling/annual model changes helped eclipse Ford's Model T era (Model T replaced in 1927).
GM acquires Adam Opel (Germany)
GM bought Opel in 1929 as part of international expansion; Opel later became crucial (and controversially active) in Europe.
Sloan Fellows executive-education program begins at MIT (Sloan-sponsored)
The world's first university executive-education program (Sloan Fellows) started with Sloan Foundation support (program roots predate formal foundation).
Established the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Organized the philanthropic nonprofit Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support science, technology, management, and public understanding.
Flint sit-down strike confronting GM labor
Major labor conflict: GM faced the Flint sit-down strike; the event led to recognition of UAW as bargaining agent.
Elected Chairman of the Board, General Motors
Sloan moved from president/CEO into role of chairman (1937), consolidating long-term strategic leadership.
Defended GM operations in Germany to shareholders
Sloan argued that operating GM's German plants was a business decision; this stance later drew criticism re: Nazi-era activity.
GM major supplier to U.S. war effort (WWII production)
Under Sloan-era leadership GM became the largest U.S. industrial supplier for WWII (armaments and vehicles), though Sloan had more limited wartime operational role.
Published Adventures of a White Collar Man
Sloan authored an autobiography: Adventures of a White Collar Man (1941).
Stepped down as Chief Executive (CEO) of GM
Sloan relinquished active CEO duties in 1946 (Charles Erwin Wilson later took leadership roles); Sloan remained chairman until 1956.
Late-1940s grant to Harding College (films on capitalism)
Sloan Foundation grant funded a series of animated pro-capitalism shorts by John Sutherland (distributed 16mm and theatrically).
Correspondence with President Truman on highway safety
President Harry Truman wrote to Sloan (Dec 3, 1948) regarding cooperation by the broadcasting industry in a highway safety program, reflecting Sloan's civic reach.
Received Gold Medal — Hundred Year Association of New York
Awarded Gold Medal in recognition of outstanding contributions to New York City (1951).
MIT opens School of Industrial Management (later Sloan School)
MIT opened a School of Industrial Management (1952); later renamed the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management in recognition of Sloan's support.
Sloan Institute of Hospital Administration established at Cornell (grant)
Sloan Foundation funded the Sloan Institute of Hospital Administration at Cornell (1955).
Sloan Foundation bankrolls Warner Bros cartoon 'Yankee Dood It'
Foundation funded a cartoon promoting mass production (1956).
Completed memoir manuscript (My Years with General Motors)
Sloan's memoir was essentially finished around 1956 but publication delayed by GM legal concerns.
Retired as Chairman of General Motors
Sloan retired as GM chairman on April 2, 1956 and became Honorary Chairman; he continued philanthropic activity.
Memoir 'My Years with General Motors' prepared for publication
Final preparations and editorial work culminated in publication of Sloan's memoir (published 1964).
Published 'My Years with General Motors'
Sloan's management memoir My Years with General Motors finally released (1964) after legal delays.
Died in New York City
Alfred P. Sloan Jr. died on February 17, 1966 at age 90. Estate and philanthropic plans continued via the Sloan Foundation.
Inducted into Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame (posthumous)
Sloan was inducted posthumously into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame (1975).
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation assets reported > $1.5B
Foundation (established by Sloan) had market value assets over $1.5 billion (reported 2005).
Sloan Foundation grants Wikimedia Foundation $3M x3
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation made three $3M grants to Wikimedia Foundation (2017) — among WMF's largest grants.
Sloan Foundation assets reported ~$2.38B (FY end Dec 31, 2023)
For year ending Dec 31, 2023 the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation had market value assets of about $2.38 billion.
Key Achievement Ages
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