PITTSBURGH — L. Stanton Williams, former PPG Industries chairman and CEO, died Sunday, Nov. 27 from complications following a heart attack. He was 86.
Williams retired from PPG in 1984 after six years as chairman and CEO, and retired from PPG’s board in 1990, capping a 44-year career with the company.
“Stan was a leader in the truest sense of the word,” said Charles Bunch, PPG’s chairman and chief executive officer. “He led our company through an impressive era of growth. In addition, Stan was a leader in the community, tirelessly working to improve the quality of life for everyone. On a personal level, Stan’s spirit and warm personality will be sorely missed. He represented the best in all of us at PPG.”
During Williams’ tenure as chairman, the company’s annual sales increased 50 percent and its earnings more than doubled. Also during that period, PPG Place, the distinctive six-building office complex in Pittsburgh, was conceived and constructed. PPG continues to maintain its world headquarters at PPG Place, having sold the complex in 1999 to Market Associates, an affiliate of the Hillman Co.
After three years as a U.S. Navy officer during World War II, Williams joined PPG in 1946 as an accountant and progressed to controller in 1956. Elected vice president of finance in 1963, he was executive vice president and then vice chairman prior to becoming chairman and CEO on Jan. 1, 1979.
Williams was a director of Texaco Inc., Prudential Insurance Co. of America, Mellon Bank Corp., Rubbermaid Inc. and Dravo Corp., and former chairman and director of Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. He was also chairman of the Young Men’s Christian Association national board and a trustee of the national YMCA Retirement Fund.
Born in Honolulu in 1919, Williams graduated from Phillips Andover Academy and Amherst College, and received a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business. He also received honorary degrees from Amherst and Thiel colleges.
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