Dolan, named CEO in 1984, was the second non-Smith family member to lead the company.
Thomas
I. Dolan, 84, who served as chairman and chief executive officer
of A. O. Smith Corp. from 1984 until 1989, died Dec. 25.
Dolan
joined A. O. Smith as a senior vice president in 1980 after a 30-year career in
the home appliance industry. He was responsible for the company’s consumer
products division, which included residential and commercial water heaters, as
well as the former A. O. Smith Harvestore Products Co. subsidiary. In 1981, he
was named head of all major product divisions of the company and the following
year was elected president, chief operating officer and a member of the
company’s board of directors.
In
July 1984, he was elected chairman and chief executive officer of the company,
succeeding
Lloyd B. Smith, the great-grandson of
the founder of A. O. Smith. Dolan was the second non-Smith family member to
lead the company. He was CEO of the company until 1989 and was chairman of the
board until 1992. He remained a member of the board of directors until retiring
in 1996.
“Tom
Dolan led A. O. Smith during one of the most challenging periods in its
history,” Chairman and CEO
Paul W. Jones said. “The
country was suffering through back-to-back recessions, and the domestic
automotive industry (at the time A. O. Smith’s largest business) was going through
an extensive restructuring. Tom not only returned the company to profitability,
he created the foundation for our subsequent success and growth.”
Prior
to joining A. O. Smith, Dolan spent 30 years with White Consolidated Industries
or its predecessor companies. He rose from an entry-level engineer to become
president of the company’s Kelvinator subsidiary before being named a senior
group vice president of White Consolidated. In his last position at White
Consolidated, he was responsible for a portion of the company’s appliance
operations including refrigerators, air conditioners, freezers, laundry
equipment, gas and electric ranges.
While
in Milwaukee, Dolan was active in a number of community organizations, serving
as a director of the Medical College of Milwaukee, a corporation member of the
Milwaukee School of Engineering, a member of the board of the Metropolitan Milwaukee
Association of Commerce, and as a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee. In
1987, he served as campaign chairman of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee.
Dolan
was a graduate of the University
of Michigan with a degree
in industrial/mechanical engineering.
Source: A. O. Smith Corp. Links
