Robert Carl Stempel was chairman and CEO of General Motors from August1990 to November1992.
20 Facts About Robert Stempel
2.
Robert Stempel joined GM in 1958 as a design engineer at Oldsmobile and was key in the development of the front-wheel drive Toronado.
3.
Robert Stempel was involved with the team that created the first catalytic converter.
4.
Robert Stempel's brother Jack worked in aerospace, brother Ted was a teacher, and a sister, Dorothy, was a social worker.
5.
Robert Stempel graduated from Bloomfield High School in New Jersey in 1951.
6.
Robert Stempel received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1955 where he had been a tackle on the football team.
7.
Robert Stempel attended night classes and earned an MBA from Michigan State University in 1970 and later received an honorary doctorate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
8.
Robert Stempel was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Engineering Society of Detroit.
9.
Robert Stempel was the first chairman of the American Quality Foundation, developed by the American Society for Quality Control.
10.
Robert Stempel was a member of the board of directors and chairman of the National Industrial Advisory Council to the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc.
11.
Robert Stempel was a member of Detroit's Conference Board, The Business Roundtable, and The Business Council and he was a trustee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Detroit Renaissance, and New Detroit, Inc.
12.
Robert Stempel received a ransom demand of $150,000, which he paid.
13.
Robert Stempel's son was later freed and kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
14.
Robert Stempel enjoyed attending auto races and motorsports events, and working on his cars, including his 1974 Corvette.
15.
Robert Stempel died in West Palm Beach, Florida, on May 7,2011, at the age of 77.
16.
Robert Stempel subsequently worked on the team that developed the 1966 Toronado, the first modern American front-wheel-drive car.
17.
Robert Stempel joined the engineering department of the Chevrolet Division as chief engineer in 1974 and was named Chevrolet's director of engineering in 1975.
18.
In 1993, Robert Stempel joined Stanford Ovshinsky, founder of Energy Conversion Devices as an adviser.
19.
Shortly after Robert Stempel became chairman, ECD partnered engineered and provided the nickel-metal hydride batteries powered the EV-1.
20.
At the time of his death, Robert Stempel served on the board of directors of Envia Systems, a Newark, California-based company that provided GM's battery engineering team with access to advanced lithium-ion cathode technology delivering higher cell energy density and lower cost.