Walter A. Haas, Jr. - Biography

Walter A. Haas, Jr. (1916 – September 20, 1995) was a president and CEO (1958–1976) and chairman (1970–1981) of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas. He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer and wholesaler of work clothes to one of the world’s leading apparel companies. In 1953, together with his wife, Evelyn, he founded the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a private family foundation based in San Francisco, California.

תוכן עניינים

1 Biography
- 1.1 Oakland Athletics
- 1.2 Social responsibility and philanthropy
2 See also

Biography

Born in San Francisco, California, Haas was the great-grandnephew of company founder Levi Strauss. Haas graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1937. His father, Walter A, Haas, Sr. was a prominent supporter of the university; the Haas School of Business was named in his honor. Walter A. Haas, Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and gave generously to his alma mater. Haas later attended the Harvard Business School. He married Evelyn Danzig Haas in 1940 and had three children with her. He became a devoted philanthropist supporting a variety of causes later in life.

Oakland Athletics

Haas was the owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball club from 1980 until his death, overseeing a prosperous tenure. Under his ownership, the Athletics won five American League West Division titles (the first being in 1981 and the last being in 1992. They also went to three consecutive World Series between 1988 and 1990, defeating the cross-bay rival San Francisco Giants in 1989 in a sweep marred only by the infamous Loma Prieta earthquake.

Social responsibility and philanthropy

Walter A. Haas, Jr. brought a commitment to fairness and equality to his professional life, strengthening Levi Strauss & Co.’s position as a socially responsible international corporation. During the 1950s, Haas, along with his brother, Peter E. Haas, oversaw racial integration of the company’s plants. He also led the creation of Community Involvement Teams for Levi Strauss & Co. employees worldwide through which thousands of employees became volunteers and active members of their communities.

Haas served on the boards of the Ford Foundation and the National Park Foundation while leading Levi Strauss & Co. He also devoted substantial energy and philanthropy to other nonprofit institutions such as the Hunter’s Point Boys’ Club and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Season of Sharing Fund.

Together with his wife, Haas established the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund in 1953 as a private family foundation. As its mission statement describes, the Fund “seeks to fulfill (its) founders’ vision of a just and caring society that provides fundamental rights and opportunities so that all people can live, work and raise their families with dignity.” Of his family’s long tradition of giving, starting with Levi Strauss himself, Haas used to say, "It's in the genes."