When I needed a job and found my way to Northwest Airlines in 1968, I soon learned of the notorious company president, Donald Nyrop. He was feared and respected by everybody in the company who had the brains to fear and respect him. He seemed to know more about most of us than we knew about ourselves.
Nyrop was an old school corporate leader. He existed for the corporation and to make the corporation eternally successful at any ethical cost. His frugality within the company was legendary, from a corporate headquarters without windows or carpeting to restrooms with no doors on the stalls. He squeezed profit out of years that other airlines could barely continue to operate.
Most importantly, every decision Nyrop made was for the success of the corporation which prospered and profited every year he was in charge. He had a reputation for cutthroat bargaining with labor unions, accepting strikes rather than an accept an agreement that he didn't like. Fortunately for stockholders, there was a mutual aid pact among airlines that allowed Northwest Airlines to actually profit during a strike. And fortunately for union members, when there was an agreement, they never had to deal with a company that went back mid-term for an amendment to keep them afloat.
How was Nyrop different from today's CEO or corporate president? He made much of his money by being a stockholder who only profited when all stockholders profited. He was a noble and dedicated gatekeeper like those we only read about today. He didn't approach corporate stewardship like it was a dairy farm, milking one company dry and moving on to another. He had character that, love him or hate him, you had to respect. Donald Nyrop was 98 years old.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/27/local/la-me-donald-nyrop-20101127
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