By James R. Hagerty 

Howard Kauffmann capped his 39-year career in the oil industry by serving as president of Exxon Corp., the world's largest oil company, at a time of public rage over soaring oil prices.

Mr. Kauffmann died May 3 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at home in Atlanta. He was 93. His death came 16 days after that of his former boss, Clifton Garvin, chief executive of Exxon from 1975 to December 1986.

"That was the time when the wheels fell off for the global oil companies, " said Daniel Yergin, author of "The Prize," a history of the industry.

Major oil companies lost much of their power in the 1970s as countries from Saudi Arabia to Venezuela nationalized oil fields. When prices surged and Americans sometimes had to wait for hours to get gasoline, many blamed Big Oil. Exxon was forced to defend itself, partly by noting that it couldn't control supply or demand.

Mr. Garvin got so many abusive calls at home that he needed an unlisted number. When Mr. Kauffmann gave a commencement address in 1978, he said many people regarded his industry as "the source of all recent evil."

Amid fears that the world was rapidly running out of crude, oil companies tried to diversify.

In 1979, Exxon announced it had devised a synthesizer that would make electric motors far more efficient. The company also purchased Reliance Electric, a Cleveland-based maker of motors. Mr. Kauffmann said the deal would allow rapid introduction of Exxon's energy-saving device.

But the synthesizer was later dropped when costs proved too high, and Exxon decided to sell Reliance in 1986. The company also experimented with solar energy and lithium-ion batteries.

In the early 1980s, Exxon diversified into office equipment and made such products as Qwip fax machines and Qyx typewriters. That project also flopped, and Exxon exited those businesses in the mid-1980s.

Other oil companies also floundered with acquisitions. Mobil Corp. bought Montgomery Ward, a struggling catalog retailer, in the mid-1970s but failed to revive it.

Some politicians berated oil companies for diversifying and argued they should focus on finding more oil. Exxon invested in shale oil projects but concluded the costs were too high. The company eventually decided its cash flow far exceeded what it could sensibly spend on oil exploration or acquisitions. So it began spending billions of dollars buying back shares and raising dividends.

Howard C Kauffmann was born on Feb. 25, 1923, in Tulsa, Okla. "We don't really know what the middle C stands for, if anything," said Lane Kauffmann, one of his sons, who added that the mysterious middle C was a family tradition. Howard Kauffmann's father, also named Howard C Kauffmann, worked in the oil industry, and the young Howard spent time in the oil fields during summer vacations.

At the University of Oklahoma, he received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1943. He then served in the Navy as an engineering officer aboard the USS Cleveland in the Pacific during World War II.

After the war, he joined an affiliate of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, which later became Exxon and now is Exxon Mobil Corp. He spent nearly a decade overseas as an Exxon executive in Peru, Colombia and England, where he developed a taste for P.G. Wodehouse novels. In 1975, he was promoted to president.

Mr. Kauffmann balanced his working life with Christian faith and a love of sports. He joined a small prayer group for senior executives in New York. He played tennis and once told a reporter he was "interested in any game that has a ball in it."

Lane Kauffmann, his son, recalled that his father always came home before dark and was ready to throw or bat balls around with his sons. He occasionally had to take a business call at home but generally finished his work in the office. He rose early and "was a very efficient time manager," his son said.

Just a year younger than Mr. Garvin, the CEO, Mr. Kauffmann was never well-positioned to reach the top job. In 1985, he received a bonus of $1.6 million, the current equivalent of $3.5 million, for retiring early at age 62.

Mr. Kauffmann and his wife then built a home on Skidaway Island in Savannah, Ga. Rather than devoting himself entirely to golf and tennis, he invested in a local firm that made custom cabinets and helped run that business for several years. The former Exxon president even occasionally delivered cabinets to customers.

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, Mr. Kauffmann, then 82, joined a group of Baptist church volunteers who spent several days ripping moldy wallboard out of damaged homes.

He also served on the boards of Pfizer Inc., United Technologies Corp. and other companies and was a director of nonprofits including the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

His survivors include his wife of 71 years, Suzanne McMurray Kauffmann, four children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2016 20:52 ET (00:52 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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