Ted Doan

Ted Doan was a businessman, philanthropist and the last member of the Dow family that served as president and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company. Doan led the company from 1962-71 and transformed Dow from a firm that made chemicals for other companies into one of the most widely known and one of the world’s largest chemical conglomerates. Doan was a strong supporter of entrepreneurship and was chairman of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, founded in his grandparents' honor.[1]

Early years

Doan was born in 1922 in Midland, Michigan. He was the youngest of three children of Leland Ira Doan, general sales manager at Dow, and his wife, Ruth Alden Dow, daughter of the founder of Dow, Herbert H. Dow, after whom he was named. He was always called Ted because his grandfather's name was "too much to hang on a kid" Doan recalled. Doan attended elementary school in Midland before boarding at Cranbrook Academy, then enrolled at Cornell University. Following the December Attack on Pearl Harbor, Doan enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and served as a meteorologist in World War II. When the conflict ended, he returned to Cornell and graduated in 1949 with a

Business

Doan returned to Midland and was hired at Dow just weeks before Willard Dow, his uncle, died in an airplane crash. Ted's father, Leland Doan, was named Dow president.[2] Ted Doan rapidly climbed the company ladder and followed his father, becoming president just thirteen years later when he was 40 years old.

Doan immediately integrated disparate company branches to create an efficient organization focused on growth and expansion outside the U.S. His goal was to increase company earnings 10% each year. Dow sales surpassed $1 billion in 1964.[3]

Doan began an open-door policy for employees, placed higher emphasis on research, and held the attitude that their employees were the company's strength. Those policies continued after Doan's departure from Dow.[2] Doan periodically visited the research labs at Dow and was always interested in the work of each employee.[2]

Trioka

Trioka is Russian term for a wagon pulled by a team of three horses abreast. Doan formed a management trioka at Dow with board chairman Carl Gerstacker responsible for finance and marketing; executive vice-president Ben Branch in charge of international business and manufacturing; Doan managed everything else. They met every other week on Monday mornings. Once each year they would retreat for a week to determine company strategy for the next year and evaluate all 300 senior managers. Upon their return, promotions and personnel changes were effected.

Overseas

When Dow realized that constructing manufacturing facilities in other countries created demand, they began producing plastics in Germany, Greece, Spain and Italy. The largest investment was in the Netherlands, at Terneuzen. That chemical complex opened in 1965. Plants were also built in South America: Argentina and Colombia plus New Zealand.[3] With extensive operations all around the world, Doan and his managers had a meeting in 1965 where they acknowledged the need to decentralize. They established a headquarters on every continent to manage business. Dow Europe, Dow Latin America and Dow Pacific were established in 1966. Technology centers were also established for 33 key products.[3]

birth name	Herbert Dow Doan
birth date	September 5, 1922
birth place	Midland, Michigan, U.S.
death date	May 16, 2006
death place	Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
spouse	Donalda "Donnie" Lockwood (m. 1946) Anna Junia Cassell (m. 1975)
children	4+1
father	Leland Ira Doan
mother	Ruth Alden Dow
field	Chemical engineering
alma mater	Cornell University
known for	expanding Dow Chemical Company worldwide

Early years

Business

Trioka

Overseas

Retirement

Personal

Accolades

Community involvement

Awards & honors

See also

External links

References