The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Iacocca, Lee
(Lido Anthony Iacocca) (´´k´k) (KEY) , 1924–, American business executive, b. Allentown, Pa. In 1946 he joined the Ford Motor Company, where he rose to president (1970–78). He left the company after a dispute with Henry Ford II and became president (1978) and then chairman (1979) of the Chrysler Corp., restoring it through shrewd financial policies, a $1.2 billion loan guarantee, and tax concessions granted by Congress. In the 1980s, he also served as chairman of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation and engineered Chrysler’s $1.5 billion acquisition of American Motors. Iacocca retired at the end of 1992, but in 1995 he aided billionaire Kirk Kerkorian in his unsuccessful attempt to win control of Chrysler.
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