User:Born2flie/Stanley Hiller

Stanley Hiller, Jr
Born	15 November 1924 San Francisco, California
Died	20 April 2006 Atherton, California
Occupation(s)	Helicopter designer, venture capitalist
Known for	first West Coast helicopter
Spouse	Carolyn Balsdon Hiller (1946-2006)

Stanly Van Winkle Hiller, Jr. (15 November 1924 – 20 April 2006) was an American aviation pioneer and helicopter designer, and later became a venture capitalist. Hiller built and flew the first American helicopter on the West Coast and the first American coaxial helicopter.

Biography

Stanley Hiller was born on November 15, 1924, to Stanley Hiller, Sr. and Opal Perkins in San Francisco, California. His father was an engineer and inventor who had built his own airplane. The family moved to Berkeley, California, in the 1930s.

Early life

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At the age of 15, Hiller was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley. At 17, he presented his design for the XH-44 "Hiller-Copter" to the U.S. Army in Washington D.C., and secured a draft deferment during World War II to further develop his design. Hiller founded Hiller Industries and established the first helicopter factory on the American West Coast on Addison Street in Berkeley, California. On July 4, 1944, he tested the XH-44 prototype at the Memorial Stadium at the University of California in Berkeley. This initial test was followed by a successful public demonstration on the Marina Green in San Francisco adjacent to the U.S. Army's Crissy Field a few months later.

In response, in 1945; which, in collaboration with Henry J. Kaiser, became United Helicopters. In 1948, the company became Hiller Helicopters.

After Hiller Helicopters merged with Fairchild Industries in 1966, Hiller left the company and created the Hiller Investment Company. Hiller's goal was to realize the opportunities in bringing together strong management groups and effective boards of directors to revitalize companies with large asset bases not being employed as effectively as possible. His strategy was to become chairman or chief executive officer, and not take any compensation until the employees had a turnaround, and the company's shareholders realized their promised returns.

He had a 20-year progression of corporate turnarounds, starting by "cleaning up" mini-conglomerate G.W. Murphy Industries which the group changed into Reed Tool Co. and in 1979 he sold it to energy giant Baker International. Soon after that success, the Hiller group took control of the nation's largest moving and storage company, Bekins Co., reversing 20 years of declining earnings as a percent of sales. He took leadership roles in of all of the turnarounds, including Baker International, for which he fashioned a merger with Hughes Tool Company to become today's Baker Hughes Corporation.

One of Mr. Hiller's most successful turnarounds came close to the end of his career. At an age when most men contemplate retirement, he persuaded Borg-Warner to spin off to shareholders its failing York International, one of the world's largest air conditioning firms, and put him in charge as CEO. A year after Mr. Hiller took the helm of the once floundering company the company posted a five-fold increase in profits, a 130% rise in stock price, and a stable employment.[2]

Maybe his last turnaround was of the Key Tronic Corporation. In March 1992 he was chosen to lead the company away from the brink of failure. Thanks to Hiller's cost-cutting and labor-saving steps, Key Tronic began to demonstrate signs of a recovery by 1993. Profitability returned to the long-time leader in the keyboard industry after years of torpid financial performance. Hiller's short reign came to end in 1995, his temporary, stopgap work completed.[3]

Stanley Hiller also served on Boeing's board of directors from 1976 to 1998.[4]

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Expanded description

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Expanded description

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Marriage and children

On May 25, 1946 he married Carolyn Balsdon who he had met as a student at UC Berkeley. Together, they had two sons, Jeffrey and Stephen. In later years, the couple lived in Atherton, California.

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Death and afterward

On 20 April 2006, Stanley Hiller, Jr. died of complications from Alzheimer's at his home in Atherton, California.

Philosophical and/or political views

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Published works

If any, list the works organized by date of publication. See Charles Darwin for example.

Awards

(If any)

References

• New York Times obituary
• Biography of Stanley Hiller
• Biography from Hiller Aviation Museum
• "Stanley Hiller, Jr.." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed on 5 September 2008. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1239247/Stanley-Hiller-Jr>.

See also

List related internal (Wikipedia) articles in alphabetical order. Common nouns are listed first. Proper nouns follow.

• autobiography
• biography

External links

• bio sketch

Category:Aviation pioneers Category:Aircraft designers