William Alexander Hewitt

William Alexander Hewitt (August 9, 1914 – May 16, 1998) was the former chairman of Deere & Company of Moline, Illinois, and the last of the Deere Family to run the company. He served as United States Ambassador to Jamaica from 1982–1985.

Early life William Alexander Hewitt was born in San Francisco, California, on August 9, 1914, to a prosperous family that had arrived from England in 1883. William had two siblings: a brother, Edward T. Hewitt, Jr.; and a sister, Adrienne Delphine Hewitt. William's father, Edward T. Hewitt of San Francisco, operated the Hewitt-Ludlow Auto Company, which manufactured trucks, tractor-trailers, and fire engines until 1930. William's mother Jeannette Brun Hewitt was born to the Brun family of Napa Valley, California. His maternal grandmother and grandfather Brun were descendants of French winemakers who arrived in 1882.

Hewitt attended Lowell High, graduating in 1931 at the age of 16. After graduating, he worked for two years as a messenger for the American Trust Company to save money for college tuition. Hewitt's father died the same year William started at University of California, Berkeley.

In 1937 Hewitt graduated from the UC Berkeley as a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a minor in political science. After graduating he attend Harvard Business School for a year, but he lacked the funds to complete a graduate degree and returned to California. He took a job with the accounting department of Standard Oil of California in San Francisco (1938–1939), and then with Texaco in 1939. In 1940 he worked as a copywriter for Roos Brothers, a men's clothing chain in San Francisco.

Military service Immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hewitt joined the Navy, commissioned as an ensign. At first, he served primarily as a gunnery officer on the USS St. Louis in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. Then, promoted to lieutenant commander, he served from 1942 to 1946 aboard the battleship USS California as a combat information center radar officer. He participated in the invasions of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, and the battle of Surigao Strait.

Family life

After the war, Hewitt took a job as territory manager for a Ford-Ferguson farm equipment distributor. While representing Ford, he was invited by one of his Alpha Delta Phi fraternity brothers to a wedding in Santa Barbara with other members of their fraternity. During his stay, he met Patricia Deere Wiman.

Hewitt and Patricia married in 1948. In 1955, the couple moved to Moline, Illinois, where Hewitt became chief executive officer of Deere & Company after working for them in San Francisco. They had three children. Twin girls, Adrienne Deere and Anna Deere Hewitt, were born on July 17, 1955, and christened at Christ Episcopal Church in Moline, IL. Alexander Southall Hewitt was born on July 15, 1957, christened at Christ Episcopal Church in Moline, February 1958.

Modern-day father of Deere & Company, 1948–1982 Hewitt was the fifth chief executive officer and last representative of the Deere family to run the company. During his tenure at Deere & Company, Hewitt turned the small domestic company into the world's leading farm equipment manufacturer with sales of over $5 billion. He was named as executive vice president in 1954 and upon the death of Charles Deere Wiman in May 1955, succeeded him as chief executive officer and president. At the time Deere & Company was a domestic manufacturer with $339 million in yearly sales. The following day in the jewelry department of Neiman Marcus, the Hewitts joined Stanley Marcus and industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss to unveil a 20-foot package to promote the new line of tractors.

During Hewitt's early administration the company made an aggressive move into international markets, which ushered in a time of growth. The workers went on strike as the result of a new rule that limited the amount of beer they were allowed to consume during their breaks. Acquisitions or plant constructions followed in France, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and South Africa. Hewitt struggled with unforeseen problems with foreign exchange, Communism, and apartheid-related problems.

In South Africa, while many companies were divesting from Africa and pulling out, he believed that a foreign presence could apply pressure to implement change and that he could work to eliminate inequities. He started cautiously in the 1960s, but by the 1970s he had pushed hard to make the Deere plant in Nigel, Gauteng a model for moving black workers into management. Apartheid leaders pressured black workers not to show up to work. Hewitt helped the black township of Duduza, where the workers lived, to upgrade the schools by working with the government and providing grants to build a new school. When Nelson Mandela became president, the Deere South African plant became significantly profitable. Hewitt continued to expand in Canada, Western Europe, and Latin America. The building utilized Cor-Ten, a corrosion-resistant unpainted steel, for the exterior structure.

Twenty-Five Year Award, 1993—American Institute of Architects; First Honor Award, 1965—American Institute of Architects; Architectural Award of Excellence, 1965—American Institute of Steel Construction; Silver Medal of Honor, 1965—The Architectural League of New York; Collaborative Medal of Honor, 1965—The Architectural League of New York; "Office of the Year," 1964—Silver Plaque Award Administrative Management Magazine; and National "Plant America" Award, 1964—American Association of Nurseryman.

The art collection, which includes 2,300 pieces by artists from all over the world, is on display throughout the company's global facilities. Much of the collection was acquired by Hewitt. For its exemplary support of the arts, John Deere was recognized as a 2005 Business Committee for the Arts (BCA) 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America honoree and was inducted into the BCA 10 Hall of Fame.

During Hewitt's tenure as chairman, he initiated and published the Deere Green Bulletins, to improve the then-decentralized offices and improve communications. Topics included corporate goals and the principles behind its basic policies and procedures.

In 1973, Hewitt began testing and working to reduce engine emissions. He formed an energy management program that tracked energy use and required operations to implement energy-conservation initiatives. Under Hewitt's leadership Deere received the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Industrial Development Research Council Award for Distinguished Service in Environmental Planning. Deere shared the Roll Over Protection System (ROPS) patent with other equipment manufacturers to improve safety for all farmers.

The Moline headquarters drew visits from notable heads of state and celebrities worldwide. Hewitt entertained Presidents Eisenhower and Carter, King Gustav of Sweden, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1959 Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, paid an impromptu visit to Deere & Company, bringing out the press in droves. In 1958 Hewitt donated the capital stock it held in Moline National Bank to the John Deere Foundation for charity. He worked closely with Elwood Curtis (chief financial officer at Deere & Company) to establish programs that would fund education and the arts, the Red Cross, and continue to benefit employees, the City of Moline, and to fund agricultural and farming communities in times of need.

The John Deere Foundation, the philanthropic organization funded by the company, has provided hundreds of millions in grants worldwide since it was founded in 1948. After the death of William and Patricia Hewitt, their children Alexander, Anna, Adrienne, and board members continue the philanthropic work through the Rock River Trust Company.

Government appointments Hewitt received presidential appointments to serve as a member of the Special Committee on United States Trade Relations with European Countries and the Soviet Union (1965), the National Advisory Commission on Food and Fiber (1965–1967), incorporator of the National Corporation for Housing Partnerships (1968), Presidential Task Force on International Development (1969), National Council on the Humanities (1975–1980), and President's Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties (1980–1981).

He was an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.), recognized for his extraordinary vision and leadership in promoting excellence in architecture.

Diplomatic life: U.S. ambassador to Jamaica

Hewitt retired from Deere & Company in 1982. On February 26, 1982, Hewitt accepted the position of U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica. On September 29, 1982, was confirmed by the Senate by unanimous consent.

He hosted President Ronald Reagan for first ever overnight visit to Jamaica by a sitting US President.