Global Platinum Securities Advisory Board Member

Richard Knowlton

Born in 1932 in Austin, Minnesota, Richard Knowlton was third in a family of seven children. His father was a life-long employee of the nearby Hormel Company. At 16, Dick also began working at the plant. He told his father he was thinking of quitting school because he felt good about the money he was making at Hormel, but his father wouldn't hear of it.

An excellent student, Knowlton was a member of the National Honor Society in high school as well as a star football player. He went to the University of Colorado on a football scholarship. Upon graduation, Knowlton received an offer to play professional football, but he took a job with Hormel, where he had worked every summer. He's been with the company ever since.

Following a steady line of promotions, Knowlton was elected president of Hormel in 1979, followed by appointments as chief executive officer and chairman. In January 1996, he completed his 48-year career with Hormel Foods Corporation, and has stayed on as chairman of the Hormel Foundation. Knowlton is the only food company CEO to ever receive all three of the highest awards in his industry. Recently, the Knowlton Award was established in his name to annually recognize the person who has made the best and most innovative contributions to the food industry.

The Horatio Alger Association presented Mr. Knowlton with the Horatio Alger Award in 1992, a distinction honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals in our society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and inspired young people to pursue their dreams through higher education. Knowlton says, "My passion for Horatio Alger is one that continues to grow." Knowlton has served on the Horatio Alger Board of Directors for a number of years, most recently as chairman. "My interest and commitment to Horatio Alger has intensified," he says. "Education needs have reached new dimensions. One of the most satisfying accomplishments with the Association has been the dramatic increase in the number and amount of scholarships we award. The State Scholarship programs are rapidly expanding and will one day extend to every state. This is one of the most gratifying aspects of my involvement with the Horatio Alger Association." Nancy and Dick Knowlton also fund scholarships to the University of Colorado and Austin High School.

When asked what his advice is to youth, Knowlton says, "Establish work and social habits that form a strong value system within. Later, that foundation will provide a sound basis for the thousands of decisions and choices you have to make along the way. Always remember, it's the little things you do that make up who you are as a person. Leaders should be measured by how well they serve their people, both in the workplace as well as in the community."

Knowlton says that it was his strong value system that got him through a difficult time at Hormel, when the casualty rate in the industry was nearly 100 percent. "Our company needed to reinvent itself to survive," he says. He restructured the company and guided Hormel each step of the way, using what he calls "points of difference" to help his company succeed when others were failing. "Always remember you can make a difference," he says. "Always search for a better way. Establish those qualities that are so much a part of you that it guides you in every situation."