Robert Shetterly (businessman)
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Robert Browne Shetterly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1915 Corning, New York, U.S. |
| Died | 1997 (aged 81–82) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Rochester |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Chairman and CEO of The Clorox Company |
| Spouse | Phyllis |
| Children | 3 |
Robert B. Shetterly (1915 – 1997) was an American businessman and philanthropist, known for serving as chairman and chief executive officer of The Clorox Company. Under Shetterly's leadership, Clorox grew from a small, single-product subsidiary of Procter & Gamble into a major independent, diversified company.
Shetterly was also involved in numerous philanthropic and civic causes in Oakland, California, most notably as the chairman of the board of trustees of Mills College and the founder of the East Oakland Youth Development Center.
Robert B. Shetterly was born in 1915 in Corning, New York. He attended the University of Rochester, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1936.[1]
Career
After graduation, Shetterly joined Procter & Gamble, where he focused on advertising.[1] When the United States entered World War II, Shetterly was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force. His first assignment was to teach radio operator mechanics. He then went to Officer Candidate School, where he became involved in a statistical control program run by Harvard Business School. After his officer training, he spent the rest of the war at Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio, where he worked under Robert McNamara. He rejoined Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati after the war and was given responsibility for the marketing of Tide.[2]
In 1952, Shetterly was named the manager of a new brand promotion division at Procter & Gamble.[3] By 1961, he was named manager of the Food Products Division and a member of the corporate Administrative Committee. In 1965, he took over the management of Clorox, which was then a subsidiary that Procter & Gamble had acquired.[1] Two years later, the Supreme Court ruled that Procter & Gamble's acquisition violated antitrust law and Clorox had to be spun off as an independent company.[4] Shetterly was elevated to the company's chief executive in 1968, and was retained in that role when the company was divested from Procter & Gamble in 1969.[1]
At the time that Clorox became independent, bleach was the company's only product. Shetterly immediately launched an effort to expand and diversify the company's portfolio, adding, among other brands, Liquid-Plumr and Clorox 2 in 1969, Formula 409 in 1970, Litter Green in 1971, Hidden Valley Ranch in 1972, and Kingsford in 1973.[5] However, most of Shetterly's acquisitions ultimately failed to realize a consistent profit, and some were eventually sold.[6]
In 1979, Shetterly was named chairman of the board of Clorox and remained in that position until 1982. He retired as the company's CEO in 1980.[7]
