Peter E. Haas Sr. (December 20, 1918 – December 3, 2005)
December 14, 2005 was an American billionaire businessman who was the executive vice president (1958–1970), president (1970–1981) and CEO (1976–1981), and chairman (1981–1989) of

Levi Strauss & Co Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, ...

Biography

Haas was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, one of three children of Walter A. Haas and Elise Stern.Businesswire: "Peter E. Haas, Sr., Former CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., Dies at Age 86"
December 04, 2005 Haas was the great-grandnephew of

Levi Strauss Levi Strauss ( ; born Löb Strauß, ; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Franci ...

, the founder of denim manufacturer

. and great-grandson of

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

. He attended the

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy (often called Deerfield or DA) is an Independent school, independent College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schoo ...

preparatory school in Massachusetts. In 1940, he graduated from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

with a bachelor's degree in economics. After school, he went to work for an advertising agency in San Francisco. He was rejected by the military because of poor eyesight. In 1943, he graduated ''cum laude'' as a Baker Scholar from the

Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration 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 ...

and then worked as a welder until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he went to work for the family company, Levi Strauss & Co, with his older brother, Walter A. Haas Jr. Under his tenure, the Levi Strauss Company became one of the first American clothing companies to racially integrate its workforce in the South prior to the U.S. civil rights movement. Haas was president and member of the board of directors from 1970 to 1981. In 1976, he became president and chief executive officer, and from 1981 until 1989, he was chairman of the board. From 1989 until his death, he was chairman of the company's executive committee. From 1966 to 1975 and from 1994 to 1997, he was a trustee for the UC Berkeley Foundation. Due to the fact that his son Michael was developmentally disabled, Haas was a strong supporter of San Francisco Aid for Retarded Children. Haas was president of the Jewish Welfare Federation (later known as the Jewish Community Federation), which his grandfather, Abraham Haas, had helped to organize, from 1976 to 1978.

Personal life

Haas was married twice. He had three children with his first wife, Kaw City,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

native Josephine Baum:San Francisco Gate: "Josephine Haas (1914–2014)"
/ref> Peter E. Haas Jr., Margaret E. Haas (adopted), and Michael Stern Haas (predeceased). His son Peter worked for the Levi Strauss Company in various capacities and was married to Joanne Christensen. Haas also has two stepsons with his second wife, Miriam "Mimi" Lurie: Ari Lurie and

Daniel Lurie Daniel Lawrence Lurie (born February 4, 1977) is an American politician and philanthropist who is the 46th and current mayor of San Francisco, serving since 2025. He was elected in 2024, having defeated incumbent mayor London Breed. He is the fo ...

. Haas died in 2005. A memorial service was held at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. He passed his interest in Levi Strauss to his wife and children.

Awards and honors

*1996 – Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

*1996 – Berkeley Medal, the school's top honor, and also named the "Alumnus of the Year" *2001 – The Haas School of Business named Haas "Business Leader of the Year" and honored him with a special Lifetime Achievement Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Peter E. 1918 births 2005 deaths Haas family 20th-century American Jews University of California, Berkeley alumni Harvard Business School alumni Businesspeople from California Businesspeople from San Francisco Stanford University trustees American billionaires Levi Strauss & Co. people Koshland family 21st-century American Jews