Robert S. Morrison

Special to Veterans Advantage

Robert S. Morrison has led large corporations through tremendous growth, uncertainty and change. And he makes no bones about it—his success comes from the leadership skills and combat experience he acquired as a Marine Corps Officer during the Vietnam War.

And nowadays, his success allows him to actively give back to others, including his fellow Marines.

Morrison’s corporate resume is nothing short of extraordinary: Retired vice chairman of PepsiCo, Inc., and retired chairman of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America. From 1997 until the 2001 merger with PepsiCo, he led The Quaker Oats Company as chairman, president and CEO. In 2005, Mr. Morrison served six months as interim chairman and CEO of 3M. And in his current corporate role, he serves on the Tribune Company board of directors, a position he accepted in 2001.

Prior to joining Quaker, Mr. Morrison served as chairman and CEO of Kraft, Inc., from 1994 to 1997. He joined Kraft in 1983 and held a variety of general management positions prior to becoming CEO. He began his career in 1969 at Procter and Gamble.

Righting the ship at Quaker Oats, 3M
A day after stepping down as head of Kraft Foods, Morrison was named the new chief executive of the Quaker Oats Company, succeeding William D. Smithburg, an apparent casualty of Quaker's disastrous acquisition of the Snapple beverage line. Snapple, at the time, had saddled Quaker Oats more than $1 billion in losses.

By late 2000, Quaker Oats agreed to be acquired by PepsiCo for $13.4 billion in stock, ending a month long courtship for the parent company of Gatorade, the dominant brand in the fast-growing U.S. sports drink category. The merger also ended a roller coaster odyssey for Quaker Oats, which at one point flirted with merging with Coca-Cola Co. and French food conglomerate Groupe Danone.

The deal solidified Morrison’s role as vice chairman, where he helped lead the combined entity with fellow Marine Steve Reinemund, who assumed the reigns from PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Roger Enrico. Morrison formally retired from PepsiCo in 2003.

In 2005, Morrison was asked to become interim Chairman and CEO of 3M Corporation, following the surprise departure of W. James McNerney, Jr., who was named the new chief executive of Boeing Co. Later that year, after an extensive search, Morrison handed control over to George W. Buckley, who is the CEO today. Morrison remains a director of Tribune Company, Aon Corporation and Illinois Tool Works.

Marine Corps Style
Mr. Morrison received a bachelor’s degree in English from Holy Cross College and a master’s degree in business administration from The Wharton Graduate School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

As he told Wharton alums in a recent newsletter, his Marine Corps days shaped his management style: "There were clear parameters that were instilled in everybody's mind, but in an actual battle situation, within those parameters, people had incredible freedom to act." Morrison, who received a Silver Star and Purple Heart in Vietnam, found the Marines' principle of decentralization "tremendously important in business. Senior management can instill principles and guidelines, but you can't do people's jobs for them."

Mr. Morrison served in the United States Marine Corps from 1963 to 1967, rising to the rank of captain. In 1997, Mr. Morrison also was awarded the “Semper Fidelis” Award by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation for his dedication to the betterment of education.

Morrison’s dedication to continued public service remains extensive. A member of the Founders Group for the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, he also serves as director or trustee for several Chicago civic, cultural and business organizations. These include the Economic Club of Chicago, the Lyric Opera, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Junior Achievement and the Museum of Science and Industry. He is active on the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and is a member of the Dean’s Council at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Finally, he has assumed key leadership roles in fundraising for United Way of Chicago.