John Smale

Smale led P&G from 1981 to 1990 and was the seventh chief executive of the 174-year-old company. He also was chairman of General Motors Co. from 1992 to 1995 and was a board member of the automaker for more than two decades, beginning in 1982. The Canadian with German ancestry graduated from Miami University in 1949. He joined P&G in 1952, working for what was then called the toilet goods division. He rose through the company, becoming president in charge of all U.S. operations in 1974 and chief executive in 1981. He added the chairmanship in 1986. During his tenure, Smale moved P&G businesses into new markets in huge developing countries such as China, setting the stage for P&G's rapid growth in Asia in recent years. The Listowel, Ontario, native spent much of his retirement in Marathon, Fla., where he enjoyed fly-fishing. He said he had been fishing since he was a child and even went fishing on his honeymoon. Smale married in 1950, and he and his late wife, Phyllis, had four children.