THE ECONOMIC CLUB OF DETROIT ANNOUNCES CIVIC DEVELOPMENT LUNCHEON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05S00620R000601480029-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 10, 2009
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: January 16, 1978
• Content Type: MISC

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TO ECONOMIC CLUB OF DETIT
ANNOUNCES
"CIVIC DEVELOPMENT"
LUNCHEON
MONDAY NOON, JANUARY 16, 1978
TWELVE O'CLOCK
COBO HALL
CIVIC CENTER, CITY OF DETROIT
GUESTS OF HONOR AND SPEAKERS
FVWEA
Chrysler Corporation
General Motors Corporation
SUBJECT
"A NEW FOUNDATION FOR DETROIT'S FUTURE"
PRESIDING OFFICER
THE HONORABLE COLEMAN A. YOUNG
Mayor
City of Detroit
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JAMES M. ROCHE
Co-Chairman
and
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
LUNCHEON
MEMBERS AND SPOUSES $6.25 PER PLATE
GUESTS $6.75 PER PLATE
(PLACES WILL BE ASSIGNED IN THE ORDER IN WHICH RESERVATIONS ARE
RECEIVED. RESERVED SEATS WILL BE HELD UNTIL 12:20 P.M.)
LYNN A. TOWNSEND
Co-Chairman
Economic Growth Council of Detroit, Inc.
and
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
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JAMES M. ROCHE
James M. Roche served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the
Board of General Motors Corporation from November 1, 1967 to December
31, 1971. Until May, 1977, he was an active member of the GM Board of
Directors and the Finance Committee.
Born in Elgin, Illinois, on December 16, 1906, he was graduated from
Elgin High School in 1923. Mr. Roche's first job was with a gas and electric
utility in Aurora, Illinois, during which time he continued his education
through correspondence school business and statistical courses.
In 1927, at the age of 21, he took a job as a statistician at GM's Cadillac
Motor Car Division Chicago sales and service branch, an association which
some 30 years later was to see him named general manager of Cadillac and
a vice president of General Motors.
Within a year after. joining Cadillac, he was named assistant to the Chi-
cago branch manager and in 1931 he was transferred to New York as
assistant regional business manager. Mr. Roche came to Detroit in 1933 as
assistant manager of the Cadillac Business Management Department and
two years later he was appointed national business management manager
for Cadillac. Following other promotions, in 1950 he was named as Cadillac
general -sales manager. ._.....__ .. ,___ ---
Mr. Roche achieved the top rung in the Cadillac organization on January
1, 1957, being named general manager and a vice president of General
Motors. On September 1, 1962, he was elected an executive vice president
of General Motors and a member of the Board of Directors, and three years
later he was elected GM's thirteenth president.
He is a member of the boards of directors of PEPSICO, Inc. and the New
York Stock Exchange. He was elected to the Board of Associate Trustees of
Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass., in September, 1966, and in October,
1971 was elected to the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee Institute.
Among his civic responsibilities, Mr. Roche serves on the National Ad-
visory Council on Minority Business Enterprise and as a vice chairman of
the Urban Coalition. Since December, 1967, he has been a member of The
Business Council. Among his numerous awards, Mr. Roche holds seven
honorary degrees.
He was appointed Co-Chairman of the Economic Growth Council of
Detroit, Inc. on October 26, 1976 (the Council is scheduled to terminate
January 31, 1978) and on December 16, 1977 was appointed Co-Chairman
of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.
Mr. Roche and his wife, the former Louise McMillan of Elgin, Illinois,
have three married children, a daughter and two sons.
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LYNN A. TOWNSEND
The Board of Directors of Chrysler Corporation elected Lynn A. Town-
send Chief Executive Officer on April 1, 1966, and Chairman of the Board of
1967. He retired as
Directors on December 1, 1966, effective January 1,
Chrysler's chief executive on September 30, 1975.
Mr. Townsend joined Chrysler Corporation in 1957 as comptroller. He
was appointed group vice president - international operations in 1958, and
directed all Chrysler activities outside the United States.
In January, 1959, the Board elected Mr. Townsend a director, and in
December, 1960, administrative vice president of the corporation.
In July, 1961, the Board established its Executive Committee and chose
Mr. Townsend as one of the original members. He became president of the
company on July 27, 1961.
Before joining Chrysler, Mr. Townsend worked on Chrysler affairs for
more than 10 years as a member of the company's national accountants,
Touche Ross & Co. He became a partner in that firm in 1952.
He was born in Flint, Michigan, May 12, 1919 and attended high schools
in Beverly Hills, Calif.. and Evansville, Ind. He began his career in the
National City Bank of Evansville where he worked for 18 months before
enrolling at the University of Michigan. He was awarded a B.A_degree in
1940, and an M.B.A.-with -distinction in 1941. - -
In 1941, he joined the accounting firm of Ernst & Ernst in Detroit. Fol-
lowing service in the U.S. Navy during 1944-46, he rejoined Ernst & Ernst.
In 1947, he became a supervising accountant at George Bailey and Com-
pany, now Touche Ross & Co.
In January, 1966, Mr. Townsend was elected a director of the Manufac-
turers Hanover Trust Co. of New York, and became a director of Manu-
facturers waHanover s elected to the board of Michigan Bell Telephone Company on
1969. He
August 26, 1974.
Mr. Townsend was elected a member of The Business Council in Novem-
ber, 1967. In March, chairman former National Alliance of Businessmen
a one-year term as
Fund, was Inc., and a of diNew recort of Detroit,
of the Metropolitan Renaissance.
of th
Among his many awards, Mr. Townsend holds six honorary degrees.
He was appointed Co-Chairman of the Economic Growth Council of De-
Janu-
troit, Inc. on October 26, 1976 (the Council is scheduled
Co-Chairman of
ary 31, 1978) and on December 16, 1977 was appointed
the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.
Mr. Townsend mrrie the ormereeushns M. Laing on September 14, 1940,
in Ann Arbor, Mich. Y
THE ECONOMIC CLUB"
OF DETROIT
920 FREE PRESS BUILDING
DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48226
TELEPHONE AC-313-963-8547
Officers
1977-78
Chairman of the Board
ARTHUR R. SEDER, JR.
Chairman, President
and Chief Executive Officer
American Natural Resources Company
Vice-Chairman of the Board
RICHARD E. CROSS
Counsel
Cross, Wrack, Miller & Vieson
President
RUSSEL A. SWANEY
Senior Vice-President
NORMAN H. BIRNKRANT
Partner
Birnkrant, Birnkrant & Birnkront
Consul General of Austria
Vice-President
EDWARD DAVIS
President
Edward Davis Associates, Inc.
Vice-President
THEODORE H. MECKE, JR.
Vice-President-Public Affairs
Ford Motor Company
Vice-President
DONALD E. YOUNG
Senior Vice-President
Burroughs Corporation
Secretary
ROCKWELL T. GUST, JR.
Attorney-at-law
Treasurer
A. JOHN HELGANZ
Partner
Ernst & Ernst
Legal Counsel
WILBER M. BRUCKER, JR.
Partner
Mclnally, Rockwell and Brucker
Executive Director
DON P. LUTHER
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