BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 5, 2001 ISSUE
COVER STORY The Real O'Neill BORN Dec. 4, 1935, St. Louis. EDUCATION B.A. in economics, Fresno State College, 1960. Masters in Public Administration, Indiana University, 1966. UPBRINGING Military brat. Dad served in the Air Force. Much of O'Neill's childhood was spent shuttling around military bases. Went to high school in Anchorage, where he met and married his high school sweetheart. FAMILY Married for 45 years to Nancy Jo Wolfe; 4 kids, 12 grandkids. GOVERNMENT CAREER Call him ''Brainiac.'' The man dreams numbers. Systems analyst for the Veterans Administration, 1961-66. Jumped to the Bureau of the Budget (which became the OMB in '67), stayed until '77, rising to deputy director under Ford. Became friends with Fordies Dick Cheney, Alan Greenspan, Donald Rumsfeld. BUSINESS CAREER First job was as engineer for Morrison-Knudsen in Anchorage. Left the corporate world in '61. Returned in '77 as International Paper vice-president; became president in '85. Left two years later to lead Alcoa, where he remained until retirement in 2000. His rep: savvy turnaround artist. Favorite CEO things: quality assurance, workplace safety, corporate diversity, accessible ''open architecture.'' SIDELINE Policy-wonking. O'Neill was chairman of Bush Sr.'s Education Policy Advisory Committee, 1989-92; was chairman of the Rand Corporation. Served as a director of the American Enterprise Institute and the Manpower Demonstration Research Corp., among other groups. CORPORATE BOARDS Was director of the NASD, Lucent, and Kodak. PASSIONS AND PASTIME Alaska--owns lakeside house 80 miles north of Anchorage. Also has getaway at Bethany Beach, Del., a popular Washington hangout. Every two years, the clan--all 22 members--gets together for a two-week vacation. Dabbles in watercolors, known for intricate doodles. FAVORITE HANGOUT Ritter's Diner on Baum Blvd. in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood. Often seen at 5:30 a.m. ordering ham-and-eggs and chatting up the locals. PAY PACKAGE Knows how to turn aluminum into gold. Compensation from Alcoa last year totaled $59 million. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Selling the Tax Cut COVER IMAGE: Selling the Tax Cut TABLE: O'Neill's Teammates TABLE: Five Treasury Secretaries Who Mattered TABLE: The Real O'Neill How O'Neill Got Alcoa Shining Straight Talk from the New Mr. Money INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

Copyright 2000-2009, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use   Privacy Notice