William White (entrepreneur)
William White (born February 3, 1897 in Midland Park (New Jersey), † April 6, 1967 Cleveland ) was an American railroad manager. He was, among other things, president of New York Central and the Delaware and Hudson Railroad .
Life
White was born the son of Dutch immigrants. After finishing high school in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he began an apprenticeship with the Erie Railroad in 1913 .
In 1927 he became head of the Society's Youngstown District. He was promoted to district manager of the Eastern District by 1938 when he received an offer from the Virginian Railway as vice president. He ran the company so well that in 1941 he was appointed president of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . He went to great lengths to put the society's finances in order. Among other things, he turned 18 independent companies into one. This enabled him to reduce the tax rate by 20%. Supported by the upswing as a result of the Second World War, he succeeded in making profits of 32 million dollars within ten years and making the company one of the most effective railroads. In 1948, for the first time in 16 years, a dividend could be paid again.
In August 1952, he replaced Gustav Metzman as President of the New York Central Railroad . He succeeded in further increasing the profitability. But he was unable to significantly reduce a deficit of around $ 50 million in passenger transport. In the spring of 1954 there was a proxy fight with Robert R. Young for the presidency of NYC. The latter finally managed to unite most of the voting rights of the shareholders and to push White out of office.
In October 1954 White became president of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad and its parent company "Delaware & Hudson Co." With 90,000 dollars, he earned 25% less than at New York Central. In 1963 he was also appointed President of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad . At EL, he turned a loss of $ 17 million in 1963 into a profit of $ 6.7 million in 1966. He died of a heart attack on April 6, 1967 in his Cleveland office.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | White, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American railroad manager |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 3, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Midland Park |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 6, 1967 |
| Place of death | Cleveland |