Gilbert F. Richards*

Born in Prairieburg, Iowa, Gilbert Richards spent his early years on his grandfather's farm. As a boy, he milked cows, pumped gas, and worked on drilling crews. He rode a horse to school. When he was 16, an uncle in New Hampshire sent him to Tilton Academy.

At 19, Richards got a job in a grocery store making $13 a week. Looking for new opportunities, he hitchhiked with a friend to California, where he eventually became a salesman for Henry Kaiser's West Coast shipyard. He worked there during World War II and rose through a series of sales and production jobs.

In 1958, he joined the Budd Company, which built Amtrak's Metroliner. Richards turned the company around and was named president in 1968 and CEO of Budd in 1971. Seven years later, he played a key role in the company's acquisition by Thyssen A.G., a German steelmaker. Richards resigned in 1980 to become full-time consultant to Budd. "You get out of something what you put into it, and it takes hard work, hard work, hard work," he said.