NFF Gold Medal Recipients
Biography
Born in Pueblo, Colo., David Packard showed early interest in science, engineering, sports and leadership. He earned his B.A. from Stanford University in 1934, where he earned letters in football and basketball. He briefly attended the University of Colorado before he left to work for the General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y. In 1938, he returned to Stanford, where he earned a master's degree in Electrical Engineering. Stanford was where he met the two most important people: his wife, Lucile Salter, and Bill Hewlett.
In 1939, Packard and Hewlett established Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Packard's garage with an initial capital investment of $538 (approximately $9,000 in 2014). Their first product was a sound oscillator sold to Walt Disney Studios for use on the soundtrack of Fantasia. Packard proved to be an expert administrator and Hewlett provided many technical innovations, allowing HP to grow into the world's largest producer of electronic testing and measurement devices. It also became a major producer of calculators, computers, and laser and ink jet printers. HP incorporated in 1947, with Packard becoming its first president, serving in that role until 1964. He was then elected Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, holding these positions through 1968.
Upon entering office in 1969, President Richard M. Nixon appointed Packard U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense under Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. While serving in the DoD, he brought concepts of resource management used in business to the military, as well as establishing the Defense Systems Management College. Packard resigned in December 1971 and returned to Hewlett-Packard in 1972 as Chairman of the Board. He retired from HP in 1993.
Packard’s laundry list of accolades includes the IEEE Founders Medal, the Vermilye Medal from the Franklin Institute, the Sylvanus Thayer Award from the United States Military Academy, the Francis Boyer Award from the American Enterprise Institute, the Vannevar Bush Award, the National Medal of Technology, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences, the Lemelson-MIT Prize, and the Bower Award in Business Leadership from the Franklin Institute, Heinz Award Chairman's Medal. He has also been honored as a member of the California Hall of Fame and Entrepreneur Walk of Fame. Packard died in 1996 at the age of 83.
