Harold Sines Vance | |
|---|---|
 Vance on the cover ofTime (February 2, 1953) | |
| Born | 22 August 1889 (1889-08-22) |
| Died | 31 August 1959 (1959-09-01) (aged 70) |
| Occupation(s) | Automobile company executive,United States Atomic Energy Commission member |
| Employer(s) | Studebaker,United States Atomic Energy Commission |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Board member of | Studebaker Corporation executive,Washington DC committee on mobilization relating to theKorean War,United States Atomic Energy Commission |
| Spouse | Agnes Margaret Monaghan |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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Harold Sines Vance (22 August 1889 – 31 August 1959) was an Americanautomobile company executive and government official, notable for being chairman (1935–1954) and president (1948–1954) of theStudebaker Corporation and for a four-year term on theAtomic Energy Commission, where he encouraged the industrial use ofnuclear energy.
Vance was born in the city ofPort Huron, Michigan, in 1889. He achieved moderate grades in school and, having failed the entrance examination forWest Point, he went to work briefly for his father's law partner whose death terminated the arrangement. In 1910, he obtained a job as a mechanic at the Port Huron branch of theE-M-F Company, which was being acquired by theStudebaker Corporation. He moved to the Detroit plant and was production vice-president in 1926 when he supervised the plant's closure and move to Studebaker's primary plant atSouth Bend, Indiana.[1]: p.91 By the time of theGreat Depression, Vance was production vice president in the company at South Bend, working withPaul G. Hoffman who would later take charge of theMarshall Plan and theFord Foundation.
A series of financial mistakes by Studebaker's long-serving presidentAlbert Russel Erskine, led to his suicide and the corporation's insolvency in 1933. Vance and Paul G. Hoffman gained control of the company as receivers with Ashton G. Bean of theWhite Motor Company[1]: p.98 and began to reinstate the operation which owed the banks $6 million but had current assets of $7 million, being an operating concern with a big stock of cars on hand.[1]: p.98 In 1935, a $6,800,000 new stock and bond issue, underwritten byLehman Brothers,Goldman Sachs and others, took Studebaker out of receivership. At that time, Vance became chairman and Hoffman became president.
A new era of success arrived with the popular 1939Studebaker Champion car range. A sales record of over $364 million was set in 1943[1]: p.111 Contracts during theSecond World War brought in $1.2 billion, and led to the production of 290,000 trucks, 64,000 engines forFlying Fortresses, and 16,000 amphibious vehicles (theStudebaker US6 truck and the uniqueM29 Weasel cargo and personnel carrier, in particular). With Hoffman’s departure to head theEconomic Cooperation Administration (administrator of theMarshall Plan) in 1948, Vance became both chairman and president of Studebaker. On February 2, 1953, Vance was featured on the front cover ofTime magazine.
In 1952, Vance was called toWashington, D.C., to chair a committee on mobilization relating to theKorean War. To Defense SecretaryRobert Lovett, Vance reportedly commented "Bob, I understand that the Army has 60,000 trucks in Texas just sitting around."[2] This disclosure led to the cancellation of a $100 million order for such trucks which had been placed with Studebaker. The reports attracted the attention of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower, who requested that Vance direct the mobilization process, however Vance declined.
In 1954, Studebaker was merged withPackard Motors Company and Vance left the corporation. A year later, in on October 31, 1955, Vance joined theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission, and worked there until his death on August 31, 1959.