Company Website:
http://www.averydennison.com
GLENDALE, Calif. -- (Business Wire)
H. Russell Smith, the former chairman of Avery Dennison Corporation
(NYSE:AVY), who humbly played an essential role in the development of
the company into a Fortune 500 enterprise, died on Sept. 7 at the age of
100, the company announced today.
H. Russell Smith, key leader in Avery Dennison history, died Sept. 7 at the age of 100. (Photo: Business Wire)
For nearly 40 years, Smith was company founder R. Stanton Avery’s
partner in entrepreneurship, translating Avery’s inventions -- the first
self-adhesive labels and label-making machinery -- into a fully
organized enterprise capable of keeping up with the rapid growth in
demand for the revolutionary new product.
“Someone once said our natures were balanced like a well-tuned
gyroscope,” Avery explained. “I supplied the imagination and Russ the
reality that kept us in business.”
At Avery’s invitation, Smith joined his college friend in 1946 as
one-third owner, director, vice president and general manager of the
Avery Adhesive Label Company. Over the next 40 years, he also served at
various times as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the
board. In 1983, he was elected chairman of the executive committee of
the board and held that position until his retirement from the board in
April 1995. He served as a director emeritus until his death.
With financial, organizational and diplomatic skills he acquired in
positions on Wall Street, at the League of Nations and the Blue Diamond
Corporation, and in the U.S. Navy. Smith incorporated the 50-person
company, started its core label materials business, expanded operations
across the U.S. and into Europe, and opened a renowned research center.
As the company’s representative to the financial community, he led its
listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967.
In 2008, Avery Dennison honored Smith’s fundamental role in company
history by naming the Mentor, Ohio headquarters of its Materials Group
after him.
“Our company owes its existence and character in large part to Russ
Smith’s business acumen, personal integrity and generosity of spirit,”
said Dean A. Scarborough, Avery Dennison chairman, president and chief
executive officer. “He was the perfect partner for Stan Avery in so many
respects, always applying his considerable talents with a cool head and
a steady hand. Above all, he and Stan shared a deep commitment to doing
the right thing every day, and together they built a very strong
corporate culture. Russ was a model of values-based business leadership.”
When asked late in life what had brought him the greatest satisfaction,
Smith cited the building of Avery Dennison and emphasized, “It was
seeing the growth of people in the organization.”
Smith was a highly active philanthropist, contributing to a wide variety
of colleges and universities, medical research foundations, and music
and arts organizations. He served as chairman of the board of trustees
of his alma mater, Pomona College, for 18 years. He was president and
chairman of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and chairman of
the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and KCET-TV, the Los Angeles
public and educational television station. He was a board member of
United Way of Los Angeles. In 2008, the Avery Dennison Foundation
created The H. Russell Smith Community Service Award to honor company
employees who demonstrate a sustained personal commitment to community
service.
Smith also was a member of the board of directors of Beckman
Instruments, Security Pacific National Bank, Security Pacific
Corporation, Southern California Edison Company and the Los Angeles
Chamber of Commerce.
Born August 15, 1914, into a Quaker family in Clark County, Ohio, Howard
Russell Smith moved to Whittier, Calif., with his family when he was
five years old. He worked his way through Pomona College, where he met
Stan Avery, and graduated in 1936, having distinguished himself as
student body president and star half-miler.
After graduation, Smith joined the investment banking firm, Kidder,
Peabody & Co., in New York as a securities analyst. He then spent from
1937 to 1940 in Geneva, Switzerland with the International Labor Office
of the League of Nations. At the start of World War II, Smith returned
to the Los Angeles area, where he became a labor negotiator and
assistant to the president of Blue Diamond Corp., a building products
company. In 1943 he joined the Navy as an officer and spent three years
in Washington, D.C., on special assignment to the War Department.
Smith’s wife of nearly 67 years, Jeanne, died in 2009. He is survived by
his sons Stewart and Douglas, his daughter Ellen Scott, nine
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be private. A memorial service is planned and will
be announced at a later date. The family has requested that donations be
made in lieu of flowers to The Huntington Library in San Marino, Pomona
College in Claremont, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Association, or Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.
About Avery Dennison
Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) is a global leader in labeling and packaging
materials and solutions. The company’s applications and technologies are
an integral part of products used in every major market and industry.
With operations in more than 50 countries and 26,000 employees
worldwide, Avery Dennison serves customers with insights and innovations
that help make brands more inspiring and the world more intelligent.
Headquartered in Glendale, California, the company reported sales from
continuing operations of $6.1 billion in 2013. Learn more at www.averydennison.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140911006022/en/
Contacts:
Avery Dennison Corporation
David Frail, 626-304-2014
david.frail@averydennison.com
Source: Avery Dennison Corporation
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