Donald Walter Davis Jr. (June 10, 1921 – September 11, 2010) was an American businessman who oversaw the growth of Stanley Works (now

Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a ''Fortune'' 500 American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware, and a provider of security products. Headquartered in the Greater Hartford city of Ne ...

) in his 40-year career with the company, serving as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 1966 to 1988. During his tenure, he supervised the company's transformation from focusing on the traditional commercial uses of the firm's products to target the nascent

do it yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, wikt:modification, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals ...

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

market.

Early life

Davis was born on June 10, 1921, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. His father, Donald W. Davis Sr., left a 17-year career as an advertising manager and director to become a teacher of advertising at Penn State's College of Communications, which he helped found. The younger Davis attended Penn State and earned a degree in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

before enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II. After completing his military service, Davis attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

using his benefits under the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

Stanley Works career

Davis was hired by Stanley Works in 1948 as its general manager of labor relations, beginning a career with that company that would last for almost four decades.Kocieniewski, David
"Donald W. Davis, Who Headed Stanley Works, Dies at 89"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 17, 2010. Accessed September 20, 2010. After 18 years with the company and having been the firm's executive vice president, Davis was named as president and CEO of Stanley Works in April 1966, succeeding John C. Cairns who had been with Stanley for 42 years.Staff
"Stanley Works Names A New Chief Executive"
''

'', April 29, 1966. Accessed September 20, 2010. During his tenure as CEO, employment at Stanley doubled to 20,000, while sales went from $230 million in 1966 to $1.9 billion in 1989, the year after he retired as CEO.

DIY trend

Having been to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the 1960s, where the do-it-yourself market was already in existence, Davis sought to bring that trend to the United States, arguing that homeowners doing construction projects on their own would want to use the same quality tools that professionals were using. He coined the company slogan "Stanley helps you do things right". Facing increasing competition from Asian manufacturers who could produce quality tools and sell them for 40% less than Stanley was charging, Davis responded with cuts in labor costs through attrition and layoffs to allow prices to drop to competitive levels. Though increasing numbers of the company's employees were employed around the world, Davis sought to keep the firm rooted in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

by establishing a new corporate headquarters in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

, saying, "I think of us as an international company headquartered here", avoiding the word "global" as "it gives the impression of rootlessness". Davis had been active on the New Britain board of education and his six children had attended the local public schools. As recounted by

Louis Uchitelle Louis Uchitelle (born March 21, 1932) is a journalist and author. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2010, first as an editor in the business news department (1980-1987) and then as a business and economics writer (1987-2010). He ...

in his 2006 book '' The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences'', after relocating to a summer house on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

, Davis would frequently make the trip to New Britain by ferry and car but started cutting back his visits by the late 1990s as coming face-to-face with former Stanley employees became too painful and "much too personal". Uchitelle, Louis
"'The Disposable American'"
''

'', April 2, 2006. Accessed September 20, 2010. After retiring from Stanley in 1988, Davis taught for over 20 years at the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (branded as MIT Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree progra ...

, lecturing on the subjects of leadership and ethics. He moved from New Britain to homes in Martha's Vineyard and

Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...

. Davis died at age 89 on September 11, 2010. The cause of death was

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

, a condition he had been treated for successfully 30 years earlier. Davis was survived by his wife, Virginia Cooper Davis, three daughters, three sons, and 12 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Donald W. 1921 births 2010 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from lymphoma in Florida Harvard Business School alumni Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications alumni People from Martha's Vineyard People from Hobe Sound, Florida Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts MIT Sloan School of Management faculty 20th-century American businesspeople