Bob Haas
Encyclopedia
Robert D. Haas is the former Chairman of Levi Strauss & Co.
, son of Walter A. Haas, Jr.
, and the great-great-grandnephew of
the company's founder, Levi Strauss
.
in 1964, and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1968. Haas served in the Peace Corps
from 1964 to 1966. He was a White House Fellow from 1968 to 1969. After business school, Haas worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Company
from 1969 to 1972.
He is a member of the Trilateral Commission
, the Council on Foreign Relations
, is an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution
, and is the president of the Levi Strauss Foundation.
In 1984 Robert Douglas Haas began a great experiment in corporate governance by expanding on the ethical traditions of Levi Strauss & Company. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Robert's grandfather Walter A. Haas, Sr. refused to lay off idled employees, risking bankruptcy. Instead he created work projects such as laying wooden floors in the company's factory in San Francisco. Walter Haas Jr. insisted on running integrated factories in the American South, giving equal treatment to all races during the era of segregation. During his tenure as leader at Levi Strauss, Robert Haas mandated ethical principles. He tried to create a corporate culture in which tens of thousands of employees around the world were treated fairly and well.
He also funds the Haas Scholarship at UC Berkeley, which funds financial aid eligible, academically talented undergraduates to engage in a sustained research, field-study or creative project in the summer before and during their senior year at Berkeley. Each year, twenty Haas Scholars are selected from all disciplines and departments across the University on the basis of the merit and originality of their project proposals.
Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
, son of Walter A. Haas, Jr.
Walter A. Haas, Jr.
Walter A. Haas, Jr. was a president and CEO and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas. He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer and wholesaler of work clothes to one of the world’s leading apparel companies...
, and the great-great-grandnephew of
the company's founder, Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss was a German-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.-Origins:...
.
Biography
Robert Haas received a BA from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1964, and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1968. Haas served in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
from 1964 to 1966. He was a White House Fellow from 1968 to 1969. After business school, Haas worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
from 1969 to 1972.
He is a member of the Trilateral Commission
Trilateral Commission
The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973 to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan.-History:...
, the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, is an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, and is the president of the Levi Strauss Foundation.
In 1984 Robert Douglas Haas began a great experiment in corporate governance by expanding on the ethical traditions of Levi Strauss & Company. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Robert's grandfather Walter A. Haas, Sr. refused to lay off idled employees, risking bankruptcy. Instead he created work projects such as laying wooden floors in the company's factory in San Francisco. Walter Haas Jr. insisted on running integrated factories in the American South, giving equal treatment to all races during the era of segregation. During his tenure as leader at Levi Strauss, Robert Haas mandated ethical principles. He tried to create a corporate culture in which tens of thousands of employees around the world were treated fairly and well.
He also funds the Haas Scholarship at UC Berkeley, which funds financial aid eligible, academically talented undergraduates to engage in a sustained research, field-study or creative project in the summer before and during their senior year at Berkeley. Each year, twenty Haas Scholars are selected from all disciplines and departments across the University on the basis of the merit and originality of their project proposals.
See also
- University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
- Harvard Graduate School of Business
- Peace CorpsPeace CorpsThe Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
- McKinsey and CompanyMcKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
- Haas School of BusinessHaas School of BusinessThe Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
, UC Berkeley - Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
- Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. FundEvelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. FundThe Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is a private foundation established in 1953 by Evelyn D. Haas and Walter A. Haas, Jr. As of 2011, the Fund has awarded nearly $390 million in grants towards advancing fundamental rights and opportunities for all....
- American Apparel Association
- League of Women VotersLeague of Women VotersThe League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
External links
- http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/responsiblebusiness/people_founding_board_bob_haas.htm
- http://americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/dialogue/5t5.htm
- http://research.berkeley.edu/haas_scholars/index.html