Andrew L. Lewis, Jr.

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The Honorable
Andrew L. Lewis, Jr.
Drew lewis.jpg
7th United States Secretary of Transportation
In office
January 23, 1981 – February 1, 1983
President Ronald Reagan
Preceded by Neil Goldschmidt
Succeeded by Elizabeth Dole
Personal details
Born Andrew Lindsay Lewis, Jr.
(1931-11-03) November 3, 1931 (age 92)
Broomall, Pennsylvania
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Marilyn Stoughton[1]
Children Karen, Andrew and Russell Lewis
Alma mater Haverford College
Harvard Business School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Religion Schwenkfelder Church

Andrew Lindsay "Drew" Lewis, Jr. (born November 3, 1931) is a businessman who was Secretary of Transportation for part of the administration of United States President Ronald Reagan.

Life and education

He received his BS from Haverford College in 1953 and his MBA from Harvard University in 1955.[2] He did postgraduate work at MIT in 1968. He married Marilyn Stoughton in June 1950 and they currently have three children together and fourteen grandchildren. His son Andrew "Andy" Lewis IV served as a township commissioner in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania between 2004–2007 and was elected in 2007 to the Delaware County Council. Lewis's sister, Floy Lewis Bakes, graduated from Ursinus College, and Lewis donated $3 million to Ursinus to build a field house, with the field house ultimately being named the Floy Lewis Bakes Center.[3]

At the time of his nomination for Transportation Secretary, he was a member of the Schwenkfelder Church.[4]

Career

In the 1950s he held several positions at Henkels and McCoy, Inc. In the 1960s he rose up the ranks of National Gypsum Company, becoming their assistant chairman in 1969. From 1972 to 1974 he was president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Snelling and Snelling, Inc. In 1971, he was appointed as trustee in bankruptcy (along with Richardson Dilworth) for Reading Company, the railroad company headquartered in Philadelphia, and guided the company through its successful reorganization and discharge from bankruptcy in 1980.[5]

From 1974 to 1981 he headed Lewis and Associates, a business consulting firm. During the 1960s and 1970s, he served in several political capacities: county committee member, chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party's finance committee, GOP candidate for Governor in 1974, chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation to the 1976 GOP convention, and Deputy Chairman of the Republican National Committee.[2] During the 1976 Republican presidential campaign, Lewis, as head of the powerful Pennsylvania delegation, had backed Gerald Ford.

At the Republican convention, Ronald Reagan announced that if nominated he would name Richard S. Schweiker, Lewis' good friend, as his running mate. Lewis had already committed to Ford and so honored his word, and kept his delegation in line to help nominate Ford as the Republican candidate. Reagan remembered his loyalty in 1980, and appointed Lewis to head his Pennsylvania campaign organization.

When Reagan was elected President, he named Lewis as his Secretary of Transportation, where he served from 1981 to 1983. This tenure included the 1981 air traffic controllers strike, and the passage of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982—and the user fees to finance it.[2]

In 1983, he was hired as Chairman and CEO of Warner-Amex Cable Communications (WACCI), the joint venture between the then Warner Communications and American Express, succeeding Gustave M. Hauser.[6] In this role, he was also chairman of the WACCI subsidiary, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company (WASEC), which eventually became known as MTV Networks after a public offering in 1984.

In April 1986, about the time Warner Communications sold its interest in MTV Networks, and purchased American Express's share of Warner Amex Cable (renaming it Warner Cable), Drew Lewis left WACCI to become Chairman and CEO of the Union Pacific Railroad.

In October 1986, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of the parent Union Pacific Corporation. One year later, on October 1, 1987, he became Chairman and CEO of Union Pacific Corporation, succeeding William S. Cook.[7] He served in that post until 1997.[2]

Since then he has been on the boards of American Express, Ford Motor Co., Gannett Company and SmithKline Beecham.[2][5]

References

  1. [1]
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. (2009-03-01). "Biographical Sketches of the Secretaries of Transportation."
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  5. 5.0 5.1 Gannett Company, Arlington, VA. (1995-06-20) "Drew Lewis named to board of directors."
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External links

Political offices
Preceded by U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Served under: Ronald Reagan

1981–1983
Succeeded by
Elizabeth Dole
Business positions
Preceded by President of Union Pacific Railroad
1986–1987
Succeeded by
Mike Walsh
Preceded by CEO of Union Pacific Railroad
1986–1997
Succeeded by
Richard Davidson
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania
1974
Succeeded by
Dick Thornburgh