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A Philanthropic Pillar

LIFE & TIMES

Down-To-Earth from page A15

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Mr. D: 1922-2009

NAME:

William Morse Davidson

Left: Opening of the Carleton, Michigan, plant in 1970. Right: New York Stock Exchange Executive Vice President Francis

Palamara, Bill Davidson, Guardian Secretary Oscar Feldman, Stock Specialist Milton Cohen in 1973.

AGE:

86

BORN:

Dec. 5,1922, Detroit, Mich.; died
March 13, 2009, Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.

RESIDENCE:

Bloomfield Hills

FAMILY:

Wife, Karen W. Davidson; children,
Ethan D. Davidson and Gretchen
Davidson, Marla Davidson
Karimipour and Cyrus Karimipour,
Mary Aaron and Jonathan Aaron,
Elizabeth Reaser, Emily Reaser;
five grandchildren

EDUCATION:

Detroit Central High School;
University of Michigan, business
degree; Wayne (State) University,
Detroit, law degree

BUSINESS:

Guardian Industries Corp., one
of world's largest manufacturers
of auto and architectural glass,
Auburn Hills; owner of Detroit
Pistons of National Basketball
Association, Detroit Shock of
Women's National Basketball
Association; Palace Sports &
Entertainment, Auburn Hills.

A16

March 19 .

Guardian Industries Corp., based near the
Palace in Auburn Hills. The flagship of his
corporate interests, ifs one of the world's
largest manufacturers of architectural and
flat glass, with nearly 20,000 employees
and facilities in 23 countries, including
a plant in Zippori, Israel, near Detroit's
Partnership 2000 region in the Central
Galilee; sales are about $5 billion annu-
ally. The company's products are used in
millions of cars and trucks and adorn
the facades of some of the world's most
famous buildings.
Davidson's uncle took him into the fledg-
ling auto glass business, then known as
Guardian Glass Co., that vacillated between
growth and disaster during the Great
Depression and World War II. With the
business facing bankruptcy and possible
extinction in the 1950s, Davidson had the
foresight to see the potential uses of glass
in buildings and new technology — and he
turned the business into a success.
The success can be attributed largely to
his ability to manage people. He believed
in hiring competent managers and putting
the responsibility on them. Guardian went
public in 1968 at $17 a share, but he took
it private in 1985 by simply buying the
majority of the stock himself.
Bill Davidson chose childhood friend
Mandel "Bill" Berman, now of Franklin, to
be an outside director at Guardian when
it went public. "But Bill [Davidson] made
most of the decisions and, of course, made
a smart move in buying the company
back with 100 percent ownership. He liked
to give out bonuses to all the employees

personally each year and knew everyone's
first name and family background. He was
a fantastic businessman and wonderful
guy."
Benefiting from expanded sales through
Guardian's new glass technology, Davidson
took a daring step in 1970 by building a
huge glass manufacturing plant in Carleton,
Mich., about 25 miles from Detroit.
To keep Guardian prospering during the
automotive industry's recent trying times,
Davidson developed a bold plan of telling
his automotive group to "just say plain no"
to car and truck makers' demands that
they lower prices. He pointed out to an
interviewer that many supplier bankrupt-
cies were caused by suppliers "chasing
volumes and accepting unprofitable con-
tracts!'
Before taking on the Guardian chal-
lenge, Davidson took over the Frank W.
Kerr Co., a wholesale Detroit drug firm,
and rescued it from bankruptcy; it's now a
flourishing enterprise in Novi. He then did
the same with a surgical supply firm.

Early Years
The son of Sarah and Ralph Davidson,
he graduated from Detroit Central High
School, going through the Shaarey Zedek
religious school system.
"My first job as a teenager was as an
usher at the old Avalon and Royal theaters
in Detroit," he once reflected. "That was
enough to keep me going until college."
His grandparents, Bessie and Joseph
Wetsman, owned the Avalon, Linwood and
Oriole theaters in the old Jewish Linwood

neighborhood.
Davidson was a track athlete in high
school and even played football in the
Navy during World War II and in his first
year at the University of Michigan, where
he earned a business degree, followed by a
law degree from Wayne (State) University
in Detroit.
"After practicing law for three years,
I decided I wanted to represent myself,
not others:' he explained in characteristic
Davidson fashion.
One of his law school classmates, Harold
Berry of Bloomfield Hills, recalls asking
him if he really wanted to practice law.
"'No; he told me:' Berry said, `I really want
to create an important business enterprise'
— and, boy, did he succeed!' Later, both
Berry and Davidson served as presidents
of Shaarey Zedek.
"Bill always did all the important
things right': observed one of his fellow
philanthropists, Eugene Applebaum of
Bloomfield Hills. "He was an astute busi-
nessman, great Jew, terrific supporter of
Shaarey Zedek and the Federation; he was
honest and fair in everything he did!'
Applebaum had business relationships
with Davidson for 35 years.

Giving Back
Bill Davidson amassed his fortune along
the way, becoming one of the Detroit area's
most notable philanthropists and a pillar
of philanthropy in the Jewish community.
A prime example came in 2007, when
he and his wife gave $75 million toward

Down-To-Earth on page A18

