25 Facts About Howard Ladd

Howard Philip Ladd was an electrical engineer, inventor, marketer, entrepreneur and bank founder.

The founder of Concord Electronics, Howard Ladd was largely responsible for the introduction and acceptance of personal audio and video tape recorders in the US.

Howard Ladd was the first of two sons born to Augusta Gertrude and David Howard Ladd in Providence, Rhode Island on April 5,1921.

Howard Ladd attended Overbrook High School and graduated from Germantown High School in 1938, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Howard Ladd graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942 with a degree in electrical engineering and earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

The ten years after WWII saw Howard Ladd actively involved in the formation of several businesses including a Southern California toy company.

Howard Ladd founded Concord Electronics, initially developing and marketing some of the first reel-to-reel and stereo audio compact cassette tape recorders that were sold in the US.

Howard Ladd understood the potential appeal of small, personal tape recorders developed by Japanese manufacturers.

Howard Ladd was a pioneer in producing personal video tape recording equipment.

Howard Ladd said the system was designed to meet the needs of professional communicators and wasn't aimed at the home market.

In 1968, Howard Ladd sold Concord Electronics to the New York based Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries, the exclusive US importer of Nikon photographic equipment.

In 1969 Howard Ladd became the Executive Vice President and COO of the Sanyo Corporation.

Howard Ladd introduced the Sanyo brand to the United States in 1970.

Howard Ladd was instrumental at Sanyo in designing and promoting Fisher Quadraphonic sound audio equipment for the American market, producing 4-channel audio equipment in both SQ and Matrix formats.

Howard Ladd directed Sanyo to manufacture special four-channel quadrophonic amplifiers and sent them to major retailers so they could become familiar with quadraphonic sound in their homes and help retailers sell more quadraphonic audio equipment.

The mergers made the entire organization more efficient, but resulted in the departure of certain key executives, including Howard Ladd, who had first introduced the Sanyo name to the United States in the early 1970s.

In 1975, Howard Ladd incorporated the Westland International Corporation in Tarzana, California, doing business as Concord Electronics.

Howard Ladd sold stereo radio receivers and cassette tape players for automobiles under the brand names "Concord" and "Westport Labs".

Howard Ladd claimed he had retired in 1988 at age 67, but he continued to stay active in many business opportunities.

Howard Ladd served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the company and the bank.

Howard Ladd had been a director of the company since 1983 and of the bank since 1982.

In May 1986, Howard Ladd founded Howard Ladd Electronics, incorporating the company in Los Angeles, California.

Howard Ladd was Chairman of the Board of Concord Technology Development LLC, an information systems company, from 1991 to 1995.

Howard Ladd was an avid tennis player and lover of big band era music.

Howard Ladd was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Industry Hall of Fame in October 2006.