{{short description|American businessman (1938–2017)}} {{for|the American athlete|William Agee (athlete)}} {{Infobox person | name = William Agee | image = BD-Bill Agee.jpg | image_size = 200 | caption = Agee in 1990 | birth_name = William McReynolds Agee<ref name=reffort/><ref name=bbcpfhs>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=osQwAAAAIBAJ&pg=6283%2C4294733 |work=The Ledger |location=Lakeland, FL |agency=(New York Times) |title=Brash Bendix chairman playing for high stakes |last=Holusha |first=John |date=September 12, 1982 |page=3C}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date|1938|1|5}} | birth_place = Boise, Idaho, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|12|20|1938|1|5}} | death_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S. | known_for = tenure as CEO of:<br>Bendix Corporation (1976–1983)<br>Morrison-Knudsen (1988–1995) | education = College of Western Idaho<br>University of Idaho (BS)<br>Harvard University (MBA) | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Diane Weaver|1957|1981|reason=divorce}} * {{marriage|Mary Cunningham|1982}} }} | children = 5 }} '''William McReynolds Agee''' (January 5, 1938 – December 20, 2017) was an American business executive. In 1976 at age 38, he was appointed president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bendix Corporation. From 1988 to 1995, Agee was the chairman, president, and CEO of Morrison-Knudsen.
Agee was a business consultant, venture capitalist, and chairman of a charitable foundation. He received six honorary doctorate degrees and sat on the boards of Fortune 500 corporations including Equitable Life and Dow Jones as well as Bendix and Morrison Knudsen. In 1979, Agee was featured in a ''Time'' magazine cover story titled "Faces of the Future", and was named ''Finance'' magazine's "Financial Man of the Year" in 1976.
==Early years== Born as William McReynolds Agee in Boise, Idaho, he was the middle child (and only son) of Harold J. and Suzanne (McReynolds) Agee. Harold, the son of a Baptist minister, had varied careers: manufacturing executive, dairy farmer, and state legislator.
Harold moved the family to a dairy farm in nearby Meridian in 1953,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reversal Of Fortune -- It Took Two Agees To Tangle With Events Leading Up To Mk's Near Destruction {{!}} The Seattle Times |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19950612/2125987/reversal-of-fortune----it-took-two-agees-to-tangle-with-events-leading-up-to-mks-near-destruction |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=archive.seattletimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hayes |first=Thomas C. |date=1980-01-29 |title=Agee Puts His Stamp on Bendix; 'Another Good Year' Expected How Agee Puts His Own Stamp On Bendix A Casteless Atmosphere A Self-Appraisal Checklist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/29/archives/agee-puts-his-stamp-on-bendix-another-good-year-expected-how-agee.html |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and Bill transferred to Meridian High at age 15. He quickly established himself as a bright and popular student with leadership skills. Agee was elected class president in that first year as a sophomore and again in his senior year. He was a multi-sport varsity athlete and was named one of the two most studious members of his class, which graduated in 1956.<ref name=reffort>{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19950612/2125987/reversal-of-fortune----it-took-two-agees-to-tangle-with-events-leading-up-to-mks-near-destruction |newspaper=Seattle Times |last=Hopkins|first=Jim |agency=(Idaho Statesman)|title=Reversal of fortune - It took two Agees to tangle with events leading up to MK's near destruction |date=June 12, 1995 |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref><ref name=ybscbc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NnEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6763,2158885 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=(New York Times) |title=Youth, bold style characterize Bendix chief |date=October 13, 1980 |page=15 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Education== After graduation from Meridian High School in 1956, Agee attended Stanford University for one year before dropping out. He enrolled in the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity,<ref name="btpwa">{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/uidahodigital/docs/gem1960/199|title=Beta Theta Pi|last=|first=|date=May 1960|website=|publisher=Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook|page=194|access-date=}}</ref> unusual for a married man. He earned an associate's degree while working 40 hours per week in Albertson's accounting department. Agee was elected senior class president and graduated with highest honors in 1960.<ref name="gem60">{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/uidahodigital/docs/gem1960/304|title=Top fifteen seniors: William Agee|last=|first=|date=May 1960|website=|publisher=Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook|page=300|access-date=}}</ref>
During the summer of 1959, Agee, along with his parents, played the part of the Dixon family in the short film ''Last Clear Chance''. Following graduation, Agee worked for the Title Insurance Company in Boise. He was promoted to controller and senior escrow officer at the age of 23. Agee enrolled in the Harvard Business School in 1961 and was awarded a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), with distinction, in 1963. He became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 1964 and joined the American and Idaho societies of CPAs.
==Boise Cascade== Agee was hired by Boise Cascade at age 25. Starting as Executive Assistant to CEO Bob Hansberger,<ref name=pfognwpt>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AWRWAAAAIBAJ&pg=7290%2C3622758 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |title=Paper firm official gets new post |date=May 25, 1964 |page=6}}</ref> Agee was appointed chief financial officer (CFO) in 1969 at age 31,<ref name=bcvigrwth>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LTkoAAAAIBAJ&pg=7239%2C3793068 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |title=Boise Cascade's virus is growth |date=February 18, 1970 |page=23 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and Senior Vice President in 1971.<ref name=artttwm>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C6RQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4319%2C3969567 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |agency=Field Newspaper Syndicate |title=Agee's rise to the top was made without serious setbacks |last=Sloan |first=Allan|date=July 5, 1983|page=9B}}</ref> Boise Cascade's stock price rapidly rose to $77 in 1969, then fell to $15 in the fall of 1971.<ref name=bctrtobel>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f-0vAAAAIBAJ&pg=7169%2C4934683 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |agency=(Los Angeles Times) |last=Lawrence |first=John |title=Boise Cascade belatedly tries to re-shape image |date=June 11, 1972 |page=12S }}</ref> After nine years, he left Boise in late May 1972,<ref name=bdxnnoff>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a6dYAAAAIBAJ&pg=5259%2C4790819 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |agency=Associated Press |title=Bendix names new officers |date=May 30, 1972 |page=22}}</ref> and the stock price was around $14.<ref name=nyse>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m5lRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2851%2C5102342 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |title=New York Stock Exchange Transactions |agency=Associated Press |date=May 31, 1972 |page=10, part 2 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Bendix== In May 1972, Agee joined Bendix Corporation, an automobile industry related manufacturer located near Detroit, Michigan.<ref name=artttwm/> Recruited for the post by CEO Michael Blumenthal, Agee became CFO and Executive Vice President,<ref name=bdxnnoff/> and held a seat on the board of directors. At age 38, he was elected president of the company in December 1976,<ref name=bltkp>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=is8vAAAAIBAJ&pg=3883,1185274 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|last=Ruskin|first=Judith|agency=Associated Press|title=Bendix leader to keep policy|date=December 20, 1976|page=40}}</ref> and was elevated to CEO a few weeks later when Blumenthal left Bendix to become the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in the new Carter Administration.
Agee was recognized in ''Time'' magazine<ref name="autogenerated1982">Time staff reporter.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121105060410/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953339-1,00.html "Just Friends,"] ''Time,'' February 8, 1982</ref> for his strategy of bold, selective acquisitions aimed at transforming Bendix from a slow-growth manufacturing company in a mature industry, into a diversified high-tech corporation. Agee's strategy dramatically increased the stock value of Bendix during Agee's tenure despite a recession that afflicted two of its traditionally main businesses, automobile parts and machine tools. While competitors floundered in 1981, Bendix' profits increased 136% and its fiscal year revenues rose to $4.4 billion.<ref name="autogenerated1982"/>
Agee was an unorthodox executive for the 1970s, often dressing in business casual attire years before it was in vogue. He removed the traditional boardroom table, replacing it with large, comfortable chairs to improve communication.<ref>Time staff reporter.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311055933/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954585,00.html "Business: Bendix Abuzz,"] ''Time'', October 6, 1980.</ref> He abolished reserved parking for top executives, allowing the best parking spots to go to employees who arrived at the office the earliest.
He was known for promoting young employees based upon merit rather than seniority. This practice caused a flurry of media interest in 1980 when he promoted 28-year-old Mary Cunningham, who had been his executive assistant, to the position of vice president for corporate communications and then VP for Strategic Planning.<ref name="amazon1984">Mary Cunningham Agee. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671475630 Powerplay – What Really Happened at Bendix], Simon Schuster 1984, {{ISBN|0-671-47563-0}}.</ref> A nationally publicized account of an alleged office romance between Agee and Cunningham – which both denied – led to Cunningham's resignation in October 1980 when she felt she could no longer effectively do her job.<ref name="amazon1984"/><ref name="takeover">{{cite magazine|author=John Skow|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20083977,00.html |title=The Takeover Didn't Take, but Bill Agee and Mary Cunningham Made One Merger That Works |magazine=People|date=December 27, 1982|accessdate=July 21, 2010}}</ref> Both Agee and Cunningham divorced their spouses and married in June 1982.<ref name="takeover"/>
Agee sought to expand Bendix by launching a takeover bid for rival Martin Marietta. On August 25, 1982, Bendix announced it had purchased 1.6 million shares of Martin Marietta for $40 million. Martin Marietta fought the hostile takeover<!--Comment: "hostile" is not POV language, it's part of a recognized, common term--> by attempting to acquire Bendix, inventing the Pac-Man defense, in which a company that is threatened with a takeover, attempts to turn the tables by acquiring its would-be buyer. At one point, Bendix owned a majority of Martin Marietta shares, while Martin Marietta, in turn owned a majority of Bendix shares. Neither Agee nor Marietta President Thomas Pownall would concede defeat, with Pownall refusing even to meet with Agee. When Marietta enlisted the help of a third company, United Technologies, Agee sought a partner to fend off the threatened takeover of Bendix. Agee eventually found Edward Hennessy of Allied Corp., who offered a way out of the stand-off: Allied would take possession of Marietta's shares of Bendix in exchange for the return of Bendix's Marietta holdings. In effect, Martin Marietta would remain an independent company while Bendix would become a subsidiary of Allied.<ref name=lmteor>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yZdfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3496%2C3617604 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=(Los Angeles Times) |last=Dallos |first=Robert E. |title=Agee of Bendix: has the flaming meteor burned out? |date=September 25, 1982 |page=2A}}</ref><ref name=chlsito>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mhBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=POIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6652%2C6286401 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=UPI |title=Bendix chairman loses in takeover |date=September 26, 1982 |page=12A}}</ref> Following the merger, Agee announced his resignation from Bendix in February 1983.<ref>Time staff reporter.[https://web.archive.org/web/20101015060747/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950790,00.html "High Noon: Showdown Time for Bendix"],''Time'', September 20, 1982.</ref><ref name=aqpaba>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gW8aAAAAIBAJ&pg=6618,4946892|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal|agency=(Los Angeles Times)|title=Agee quits post at Bendix, Allied|date=February 9, 1983|page=15}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=alpwbc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y_VVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WeIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6331%2C2076480 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Agee leaving post with Bendix Corp. |date=February 9, 1983 |page=6C}}</ref>
==Morrison Knudsen== From 1988 to 1995 Agee was Chairman, President and CEO of the construction company Morrison Knudsen Corporation (MK) in his hometown of Boise.<ref name=mknaceoch88>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fOhVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5406%2C1191736 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=Associated Press |title=Morrison Knudsen name Agee as CEO, chairman |date=August 6, 1988 |page=8E }}</ref><ref name="exile">{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/05/29/203144/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914232851/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/05/29/203144/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 14, 2010|title=Agee in Exile|first=Brian |last=O'Reilly|publisher=Fortune|date=May 29, 1995|accessdate=July 22, 2010}}</ref> He had served on MK's Board of Directors for several years, and was the Board's choice to step in as CEO and President.<ref name="the wreck"/> At that time, a hostile takeover attempt by Chicago businessman Edward Heil and record losses threatened the company's existence. Agee thwarted the takeover and returned the failing Morrison Knudsen to profitability within one year.<ref name="the wreck">Time staff reporter. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071207234345/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982764,00.html "The Wreck of Morrison Knudsen"], ''Time'', April 3, 1995.</ref> By 1990, Agee had made the company highly profitable and it was debt-free.<ref name="the wreck"/> Agee employed a diversification strategy which changed the company from one which was primarily reliant on heavy construction to one which was involved in railroad remanufacturing, precious minerals, and the transit business.<ref name="Seattle">{{cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/obituary-william-agee-business-exec-who-led-morrison-knudsen-to-bankruptcy/|title=William Agee, Business Exec. Who Led Morrison-Knudsen to Bankruptcy, Dies at 79|newspaper=Seattle Times|date=December 26, 2017|accessdate=December 26, 2017}}</ref> Agee formed MK Gold and MK Rail, and was appointed CEO of each. He moved out of company headquarters in Boise to run the enterprise from his home in Pebble Beach. MK had record profits between 1989 and 1991, much of which derived from operating revenue, accounting decisions and non-traditional sources of income such as investments.<ref name="exile"/> When the rail business disintegrated after the loss of several contracts, MK found itself unable to return to its core businesses.<ref name="the wreck"/>
In February 1995, when MK announced a loss of $310 million for fiscal year 1994, the MK board voted to terminate Agee.<ref name=msdisas/> A leak of an intended Agee resignation drew broad media attention which resulted in Agee resigning earlier than originally planned.<ref name="exile"/><ref name=aoustabc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wF1IAAAAIBAJ&pg=3059%2C2861125 |newspaper=Toledo Blade |agency=Associated Press |title=Agee ousted; all Boise celebrates |date=February 11, 1995 |page=28 }}</ref><ref name=textaf>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=990vAAAAIBAJ&pg=4807,252022 |last=Wollenberg |first=Skip |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Ledger |location=Lakeland, FL |title=Top exec takes a fall |date=February 11, 1985 |page=1E}}</ref><ref name=msdisas>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-pVQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4250%2C1344139 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |last=Sloan |first=Allan |agency=Newsday |title=Master of disaster sinks yet another corporation |date=February 6, 1995 |page=19D }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=msofdstr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-pVQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4250%2C1344139 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Newsday |last=Sloan |first=Allan |title=Master of disaster sinks yet another corporation |date=February 6, 1995 |page=19D }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Nearing bankruptcy in 1996,<ref name=imkobod>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XvBHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5184,4653288|newspaper=Deseret News|title=Is Morrison-Knudsen Corp. on the brink of disaster?|date=February 9, 1996|page=D7}}</ref> Morrison-Knudsen merged with Dennis Washington's Washington Construction Group in May,<ref name=wkwgtom>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D4AfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4381,1837995 |newspaper=Sarasot Herald-Tribune|agency=Associated Press|location=Sarasota, FL |title=Morrison-Knudsen, Washington Group to merge|date=May 17, 1996|page=6D}}</ref><ref name=mkstokd>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-yxOAAAAIBAJ&pg=7095,4524235 |newspaper=Deseret News|agency=Associated Press|title=Morrison Knudsen settlements OK'd |date=May 22, 1996|page=D8}}</ref> and later became Washington Group International, based at MK's headquarters in Boise.<ref name="the wreck"/>
==Business consultancy== Agee was Chairman of Semper Charitable Foundation, the Semper family's charitable foundation, and chaired Semper Partners, a venture capital and consulting firm founded in partnership with his wife, Mary Cunningham Agee.<ref name="Seattle"/>
An example of Agee's success in venture capital and consulting was the growth and sale of Mozzarella Fresca, a company that he helped develop into the largest fresh mozzarella manufacturer in the West with customers ranging from Whole Foods to Domino's Pizza.<ref>[http://sanfrancisco.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=83407&type_news=latest "Mozzarella Fresca Makes History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720002606/http://sanfrancisco.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=83407&type_news=latest |date=2011-07-20 }}, dBusinessNews, April 6, 2010.</ref>
Agee served on the Board of Directors of Fortune 500 firms including Dow Jones (1978–1993), the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (1974–1977), Morrison Knudsen (1974–1977 and 1981–1985) Equitable Life (1976–1985), ASARCO (1979–1981), and General Foods (1979–1983).<ref>Time staff reporter.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070310191300/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925901,00.html Golden Goodbye], ''Time'', February 21, 1983.</ref>
Agee also served as a Director of Allied Corporation, MK Gold Company, MK Rail Corporation, LoJack Corporation and Key Bank Corp. Other directorships included the Committee for Economic Development, National Council for U.S. - China Trade, the Urban Institute, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, the Detroit Renaissance Foundation, the United Foundation, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Cranbrook Education Community.<ref name="the wreck"/>
==Death== Agee died at age 79 from complications of respiratory failure caused by vascular degeneration, Alzheimer's Disease, and Scleroderma, a connective tissue disease, at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle on December 20, 2017.<ref name="Seattle"/><ref name=obtnyt>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/obituaries/william-agee-mary-cunningham.html |work=New York Times |last=Lohr |first=Steve |title=William Agee, '70s C.E.O. whose star was dimmed, dies at 79 |date=December 26, 2017|page=B10}}</ref> Just prior to his death, and after 35 years of marriage, Agee filed for divorce from Cunningham. The divorce was not finalized due to his death in December 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chozick|first=Amy|date=2018-02-10|title=Before There Was #MeToo, There Was Mary Cunningham|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/business/before-metoo-there-was-mary-cunningham.html|access-date=2021-11-15|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=reffort/><ref>The Matrimonial Tribunal - Diocese of Boise - Decree of Nullity 1-28-1982 Case 365-81</ref>
==Awards and honors== Agee received honorary doctorates from the University of Detroit (1980), Lawrence Institute of Technology (1980), Eastern Michigan University (1980), Bryant College, Cleary University, and Nathaniel Hawthorne College. In 1978, he received the Harvard Business School's Alumni Achievement Award <ref>[http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/awards/pastwinners.html Harvard Business School Alumni – Past Winners, 1977]</ref> and in 1990 received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.<ref>[http://www.neco.org/profileList.php?list=a Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor – Past Medalist Listing: William M.(McReynolds) Agee] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225044500/http://www.neco.org/profileList.php?list=a |date=2012-02-25 }}</ref> Agee was elected to the alumni hall of fame at the University of Idaho in 1978,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gPtLAAAAIBAJ&pg=3796%2C4159687 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |title=Honor voted |agency=(photos) |date=March 31, 1978 |page=5 }}</ref> and was also that year's commencement speaker.<ref name=ihnfntb >{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MPtLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5105%2C3447602 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |title=Idaho honors four notables |date=May 12, 1978 |page=16}}</ref><ref name=oakey>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E8heAAAAIBAJ&pg=1700%2C7508429 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=UI graduates told diplomas only a key |date=May 21, 1978 |page=13A}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== *[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=william-agee&pid=187618281 Obituary]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Agee, William}} Category:1938 births Category:2017 deaths Category:People from Boise, Idaho Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:Boise State University alumni Category:Cleary University alumni Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:Stanford University alumni Category:University of Idaho alumni Category:Deaths from respiratory failure in the United States Category:Deaths from scleroderma Category:Bendix Corporation people