James E. Burke | |
|---|---|
 Burke in 2000 | |
| Born | (1925-02-28)February 28, 1925 Rutland, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | September 28, 2012(2012-09-28) (aged 87) |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BS) Harvard University (MBA) |
| Title | CEO ofJohnson & Johnson |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Daniel Burke (brother) Steve Burke (nephew) Felix Wormser (father-in-law) |
| Awards | American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1993) Jefferson Award (1993) Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Battles / wars | |
James Edward Burke (February 28, 1925 – September 28, 2012)[1] was an American businessman who was thechief executive officer (CEO) ofJohnson & Johnson (J&J) from 1976 to 1989, where he worked for forty years.[2][3] The company's revenue tripled to more than $9 billion under his tenure.[4]
Burke was best known as head of Johnson & Johnson during the 1982Chicago Tylenol murders, after which he chose to recall 31 million bottles of Tylenol at the expense of $100 million,[5] ultimately relaunching the product with a tamper-proof design. His actions became a prominent case of successfulcrisis management, and have served as a standardcase study for numerous business practices.[6][7][8] In 2000, he was one of few CEOs to be awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom.[9] In 2003,Fortune magazine named Burke as one of the greatest CEOs in history.[10]
Burke was born inRutland,Vermont, on February 28, 1925, to James Burke, a formermarble salesman turned insurance salesman,[11] and Mary Barnett Burke,[12] ahomemaker.[10] He was raisedmiddle-class in the small town ofSlingerlands, New York, nearAlbany.[13][14] Multiple members of his family were later successful in business. Burke's younger brother,Daniel, became president of theAmerican Broadcasting Company (ABC). His two sisters, Phyllis Davis and Sidney Burke Carroll, were a cosmetics executive and lawyer, respectively. One nephew,Stephen Burke, is the senior executive vice president ofComcast and chairman ofNBCUniversal.[12]
As a child, Burke collected and solddaffodils found near his Albany home—afraid that they "were going to waste"—and offered a portion of the profits to the field owner. He alsopeddled Christmas trees and strawberries. "I was a marketing person beginning in fourth grade," Burke recalled.[11] He was influenced by his father, who taught each of his children to debate.[15]
After being educated at the Vincentian Institute, a rigorousCatholic high school in Albany,[14] Burke attended theCollege of the Holy Cross, where he was a member of the college'sNaval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program,[10] along with yearbook, band, and business clubs.[16] DuringWorld War II, he served as anensign in theUnited States Navy and commanded alanding craft tank (LCT) in the Pacific Theater.[17]
Burke returned to Holy Cross after the war, graduating in 1947 with aBachelor of Science (B.S.) ineconomics,[2] and writing asenior thesis titled "Federal Trade Commission and Advertising."[16] He then enrolled inHarvard Business School and earned aMaster of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in 1949.[13] Many of Burke's classmates at Harvard also became prominent business leaders, includingThomas Murphy, chair and CEO of ABC.[3] Years later, in a 1991 conversation at theAcademy of Management, Burke said that he learned more of business through the undergraduate program at Holy Cross than he did throughout business school.[18]
After graduating from Harvard, Burke became asales representative for the consumer corporationProcter & Gamble.[19] He remained there for three years as a brand manager before moving to assume a position as a director forJohnson & Johnson's product division (known as Johnson & Johnson Products) in 1953, tasked with selling the company's originalfirst aid goods.[20] Growing dissatisfied with the company's lack of product development, he initially planned to leave.[11] After one year, Burke quit Johnson & Johnson, where "he found the environment and lack of innovation stifling."[15] But after being persuaded that the company would be more tolerant of risk-taking, Burke returned three weeks later, arriving as the new head of the department.[21]
Burke prioritized the development of new products as department head.[15] In 1954, Burke launched a series ofover-the-counter medicines for children, but they all proved unsuccessful.[22] On one occasion, he was called to the office of J&J CEORobert Wood Johnson II: "I was full of bravado. I thought I was going to get fired."[15] Johnson instead congratulated Burke for his propensity for risk-taking.[15]
J&J announced thatRichard B. Sellars would step down as CEO as of November 1, 1976, and be replaced by Burke.[23] As CEO, Burke is credited for the growth of Johnson & Johnson to its current size and prominence, but he is perhaps best known for his crisis management in 1982, when it was found thatTylenol capsules had been poisoned withcyanide.[20]
In addition to his duties with Johnson & Johnson, Burke served as anoutside director forIBM and was instrumental in the ousting ofJohn Akers and bringing in formerAmerican Express andRJR Nabisco CEOLouis V. Gerstner Jr. to replace him.[24]
Following his retirement, he was appointed the second chairman of the national nonprofit organizationPartnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA), formed by a consortium of advertising professionals who ran a research-based media campaign to discourage teenage use of illegal drugs such asmarijuana.[25] Burke was honored for hispublic service advertising work by then US presidentBill Clinton, who awarded him thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in theUnited States.Fortune magazine named him as one of the ten greatest CEOs of all time and he had a membership in theNational Business Hall of Fame.[26]
He received theBower Award for Business Leadership in 1990. He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1991[27] and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993.[28][29]
In 1993, Burke received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually byJefferson Awards.[30][31]
He was president of the Business Enterprise Trust that honored acts of courage, integrity and social conscience in business.
Burke married his first wife, Alice Llewellyn Eubank, in April 1957.[32] He had two children with her: James Charles and Mary Clotilde.[12][33] After Eubank's death, Burke married his second wife, Diane "Didi" Wormser (1927–2021), an artist who was the daughter ofFelix Wormser, in 1981.[34]
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President ofJohnson & Johnson 1976–1989 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
