Morry Taylor
American businessman and political candidate (born 1944)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maurice Taylor Jr. (born August 28, 1944) is an American businessman, author, and political candidate. He is the chairman of Titan International, a tire and wheel manufacturing company, after having served as Titan's president and chief executive officer from 1990 to 2005 and as chairman and chief executive officer from 2005 until his retirement as chief executive in December 2016.[1] Taylor, nicknamed "the Grizz" for his bear-like gruffness and tough negotiating style, started in tool and die manufacturing before purchasing Titan Wheel International from Firestone.[1][2]
- Politician
- businessman
- author
Morry Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maurice Taylor Jr. August 28, 1944 |
| Other names | The Grizz |
| Education | Michigan Technological University (attended) |
| Occupations |
|
| Political party | Republican |
Taylor was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Ellsworth, Michigan.[2] Outside the business world, he gained brief national attention for his unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination in the 1996 U.S. presidential election, a campaign later chronicled in his book Kill All the Lawyers – And Other Ways to Fix the Government and featured in Michael Lewis's campaign reporting and book Trail Fever.[3][4][5] He spent over $6 million on the campaign, but received about 1% of the vote in the primaries in which he ran.[3] Taylor was also one of the subjects on the 19th episode of PRI's This American Life entitled "Rich Guys", originally aired in 1996.[6]
In 2013, Taylor drew international criticism in France after sending a widely publicized letter to French industry minister Arnaud Montebourg declining to invest in a Goodyear-owned factory and deriding French workers and labor practices.[7][8][9][10]
Early life and education
Business career
Before becoming known for his presidential bid or his later public comments on trade and labor, Taylor built his reputation in manufacturing. He began in tool-and-die work and later moved into the heavy-duty wheel business as a manufacturer's representative.[11] According to Lewis, Taylor then began acquiring distressed tire and wheel plants in the early 1980s and attempting to revive them.[11]
Taylor became central to the creation of modern Titan International. A Titan annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated that he had been president, chief executive officer, and a director since 1990, when Titan was acquired in a management-led buyout by investors that included Taylor.[12] Titan's investor-relations materials state that he led the company through its initial public offering in 1993, transformed it from a small wheel manufacturer into a global producer of off-highway wheel and tire systems, and remained chairman after retiring as chief executive in 2016.[1]
Taylor's nickname, "The Grizz", was given to him by Wall Street analysts because of his rough style and reputation as a hard negotiator.[1][13]
1996 presidential campaign
Taylor's 1996 bid for the Republican presidential nomination was a relatively small part of his public life, but it briefly drew national notice because he entered the race as an outspoken manufacturing executive rather than as a veteran elected official or conservative media celebrity. He formally launched his campaign in March 1995 and presented himself as a blunt-spoken outsider who believed business experience, rather than Washington experience, was what the country needed.[14][15]
Coverage of the campaign often focused on the contrast between Taylor's wealth and his attempt to style himself as a representative of ordinary voters. Lewis described him as the only bona fide commercial success story in the Republican field, while the Los Angeles Times wrote that he was spending millions of his own money to present himself as a working man's candidate.[11][15] His campaign did not gain significant traction in the race, and he withdrew in March 1996 after poor primary results.[3]
Media and writings
Taylor wrote Kill All the Lawyers – And Other Ways to Fix the Government, published in 1996 and credited to Morry Taylor with Barbara Feinman Todd.[4] The book was tied closely to his presidential campaign and his broader anti-Washington rhetoric. Taylor's 1996 candidacy also became a memorable subject in campaign journalism: Lewis used him as one of the major characters in his 1996 trail reporting and later in Trail Fever, while This American Life devoted a segment of its 1996 episode Rich Guys to Lewis reading from his notes on Taylor's campaign.[5][6]
France controversy
Taylor received international attention in 2013 after refusing to buy part of Goodyear's Amiens Nord factory in France and sending an inflammatory letter to Arnaud Montebourg, then the French minister for industrial renewal.[7] Reuters reported that the letter, first posted by Les Echos and confirmed as genuine by the ministry, said French workers were paid high wages but worked only a few hours per day, and concluded that Titan would be better off buying a Chinese or Indian tire company and paying less than one euro per hour in wages.[7]
The remarks drew a major backlash in France. Montebourg responded that France remained a leading destination for investment and argued that firms operating there appreciated French productivity and expertise.[7] The Economist summarized his counterattack by noting his observation that Michelin was much larger and more profitable than Titan.[16]
Taylor did not back away from the dispute. In an interview with ABC News, he defended his criticism of the French government and mocked its sensitivity, saying, "Maybe they should not wear briefs and use boxer shorts instead."[17] He returned to the subject in 2015, telling French television that "France is a ruined country".[18]
