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 his
spirit.
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/
Avery Dennison CorporationDavid Frail,
626-304-2014david.frail@averydennison.com
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