Thomas A. Murphy, Former GM Chairman & CEO, Dies at 90

DETROIT – Retired General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas A. Murphy, who led GM through a period of significant change in the late 1970s, died today in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was 90.

Murphy was appointed chairman and CEO on Dec. 1, 1974, and led the world’s largest automaker until his retirement on Jan. 1, 1981.

"The entire GM family mourns the passing of Tom Murphy,” GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said. “He was one of the great leaders in GM history, guiding the company to outstanding business results as it addressed major challenges, such as the oil crises of the 1970s.

“Even more importantly, Tom personally set a tone of the highest morals and ethics in every action that he took, and that has defined the culture in GM for decades since. We will all miss Tom greatly, and extend our sincerest sympathy to his wonderful wife, Sis, and their family.”

Former Chairman and CEO Jack Smith also recalled Murphy’s character.

"He was one of the finest human beings I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Smith said. “He was a man of the greatest integrity. And in spite of a very busy schedule, he would always ask how the family was doing."

Murphy joined GM in 1938 as a clerk on the comptroller’s staff in Detroit upon graduation from the University of Illinois in 1938 with an accounting degree. Just 15 days later, he was transferred to the financial staff offices in New York .

He moved up through several accounting and financial analysis positions, and in 1954 was named director in charge of analysis of corporation and divisional pricing.

He was promoted to director of the financial analysis section in the Treasurer’s Office in New York in 1956, and was appointed an assistant treasurer in 1959. He was elected comptroller of GM in 1967, and treasurer a year later. He held that position until he was elected a vice president and group executive in charge of the former Car and Truck Group in the United States and Canada in 1970. Murphy was elected vice chairman in 1972.

He took over leadership of the corporation in 1974, the year after the Arab oil embargo led to a sudden and unexpected shift in demand for small, fuel-efficient cars in the United States. That, in turn, led to an unprecedented downsizing of the next generation of GM cars, and a large-scale shift to front-wheel-drive powertrains.

During his tenure as chairman and CEO, GM reached its all-time sales record in the United States, its largest market, of nearly 7.1 million cars and trucks in 1978. After his retirement, he continued to serve as a member of the Board of Directors until May 1988.

“His keen interest in and passion for General Motors continued after his retirement,” Wagoner recalled. “Until his passing, Tom would correspond with me regularly, always offering amazing insights, raising excellent questions, providing terrific support to us as we addressed the challenges at hand.”

In a textbook for GM executives that was published in 2000, Murphy was quoted on the importance of knowing and meeting customer needs.

“Serving the customer and always keeping the customer paramount in your planning and in your mind, trying to anticipate how best you’re going to serve the customer, is really the key to success,” Murphy said. “That’s written all through the history of the automobile business.”

Murphy served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 and reached the rank of lieutenant (j.g.). He was born Dec. 10, 1915, in Hornell, N.Y., and attended Leo High School in Chicago .

He was a former chairman of the Business Roundtable, a member of the Business Council, the Financial Executives Institutes, and a director of the University of Illinois Foundation . He had been a director of the United Negro College Fund, and a member of the board of overseers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center .

He received the American Legion’s Public Service medal, the Pace University 1979 Leaders in Management Award, the National Human Relations Award from the Greater Detroit Roundtable of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in October 1990. He received 19 honorary degrees, was on the board of the St. Vincent de Paul Seminary of Florida, and was a Knight of Malta and of the Holy Sepulchre.

Murphy is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Catherine Rita “Sis” Murphy, daughters Catherine A. Murphy and Maureen M. Fay (W. Donald Fay), son Thomas A. Murphy Jr. (Maria S. Murphy), eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Friday 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Lorne & Sons Funeral Home in Delray Beach, Fla. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary Chapel in Boynton Beach, Fla. Burial at Calvary Cemetery in Long Island, N.Y., is pending.