Richard E. Cross
| Richard E. Cross | |
|---|---|
Richard E. Cross at AMC in the 1960s
|
|
| Born | 1910 Madison, Wisconsin, USA |
| Died | 31 August 1996 Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA |
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupation | Lawyer and business executive in the automotive industry |
| Years active | 1938–1987 |
| Employer | American Motors Corporation |
| Awards | Steering Wheel Award, the Automobile Club of Michigan |
Richard Eugene Cross was an American business executive in the automotive industry, a lawyer, and civic leader.
Cross participated in many civic activities and provided leadership in several organizations that included citizens groups on housing, schools, and police-community relations. He marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. after the 1967 Detroit riot. He headed the Detroit Commission on Community Relations as the mayor's appointee from 1958 to 1962.
He was one of the first commissioners of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, but in 1965, Cross declined a reappointment request by Governor George W. Romney because of the pressing business conditions at American Motors Corporation (AMC). For twenty years, Cross was head of the executive committee for the United Negro College Fund in Michigan.
Cross was a founder and chairman of the Hundred Club of Detroit, whose purpose is to help provide for the widows and dependents of policemen and firemen who lose their lives in the line of duty.
Cross was elected in 1959 as the only United States representative to the Pan American Games Committee, on which he served until 1963. In 1960, he also served as member at large on the United States Olympic Committee.
Cross was a "quiet, analytical attorney" who served as legal counsel for American Motors Corporation (AMC). He drew up the 1954 merger papers that created the new company from Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson Motor Car Company. Cross became a director of the company in 1954, and in 1959, a member of the policy committee.
He was one of a duumvirate succeeding George W. Romney, who at the time was technically on leave of absence. In 1962, at age 52, Cross was elected chairman of the board of directors as well as the chief executive officer, while Roy Abernethy was named president of AMC.
...
Wikipedia