Outboard Motorist Out

For the peculiar plight he was in last week, Ralph Evinrude had only one explanation: "The boom was lowered." Evinrude, president of Outboard, Marine & Mfg. Co. (Evinrude, Johnson & Elto motors), had gone to what seemed a routine directors' meeting to elect four new members to the board, increasing it to nine. "That's all I thought we were going to do," he said. But, no sooner were the new members elected with the help of Evinrude's votes, than the board, by a vote of 6-3, fired President Evinrude. Installed in his place was J. G. Rayniak, executive vice president and general manager.

What was more perplexing was that Evinrude, son of the founder of Outboard Motors Corp. (which had merged with Johnson 16 years ago), was still the company's chief stockholder, controlling about 20% on the company's 594,288 shares outstanding. "I never had an inkling," said Evinrude. "It's never been done before. Usually such things happen when things get bad. We just had our best year ever." All that was true enough. In 1952, sales of Outboard, Marine had reached an alltime high of more than $42 million or about $10 million over 1951's gross (net earnings were off some $200,000).

Why was the boom lowered? Some company executives hinted that although Evinrude had been president for the last 16 years, he had never actually been the company's boss, but had left such duties to Executive Vice President Rayniak and others. And Board Chairman S. F. Briggs, whose stock holdings are almost as big as Evinrude's, had apparently decided to vote against him. Said one top executive: "There comes a time when it seems desirable to change an organization to conform to the facts of life." But this week, the directors took another look at the facts of life, i.e., Evinrude's big block of stock. They made him vice chairman and chairman of the executive committee.

Other personnel changes:

HARLOW H. CURTICE, 59, was named president of General Motors Corp. He has been acting president since Charles E. Wilson left to be Secretary of Defense.

ROBERT A. LOVETT, 57, former Secretary of Defense and investment banker, was elected to the board and the executive committee of the Union Pacific Railroad, a pair of posts he has held before.

JOHN W. SNYDER, 57, for seven years Harry Truman's Secretary of the Treasury, was appointed vice president in charge of finance of Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. Elected a director and chairman of the finance committee as well, Snyder becomes Willys' top finance man.

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