Allen J. Krowe ’54 attributes some of the successes in his
tremendously successful career to the start he received at the
University of Maryland’s business program. He endowed the
Krowe
Teaching Excellence Awards to acknowledge the great education he
received at the university. “I received a top-grade education that I
could afford—which was about $400 a year at the time,” remembers Krowe. “There is something very special about the land grant
schools. A student of modest means can attend the school in their
state and, if they were lucky enough to be in Maryland, receive a
tremendous education.”
Krowe took that education to great heights, first as a fighter
pilot with the U.S. Air Force, then as CFO, executive vice president
and member of the Corporate Management Board for IBM. He was an
integral part of Big Blue during the years that saw the advent of
the international fax machine, the invention of bar codes, the
launch of the first business satellites, and the ascendance of the
personal computer.
Krowe remembers the difficulties IBM had persuading both managers
and consumers to accept the now-ubiquitous bar code system. “We had
to fight our way through the briar patch of consumer advocates who
were dead set against having a bar code on a product because they
felt—wrongly—that it would confuse consumers or that it would cheat
people,” says Krowe. “What they failed to understand was that it cut
the costs of operation by about 2 percent, which in the competitive
retail business is very significant in keeping prices down.”
This kind of success might have been enough for others, but Krowe
went on to distinguish himself in a second career: as vice chairman
of Texaco Inc. Krowe was 57, and IBM’s mandatory retirement age of
60 was staring him in the eyes. Texaco was going through a difficult
period, working through an adverse legal ruling that was going to
cost them several billion dollars. “Frank Carey, the previous
chairman of IBM, and Tom Murphy, the chairman of Cap Cities ABC,
were on both the IBM and Texaco boards,” says Krowe. “They told me
‘We’d love to have you stay at IBM, but here’s a chance for you to
have eight or nine more years at Texaco.’”
Krowe took that chance and served as deputy to the chairman of
the board and chief executive officer of Texaco. “It was very
energizing to take on a new industry,” says Krowe. “I really enjoyed
it! It was a great second career.”
Krowe is retired now, but is on several private capital boards.
In his free time he enjoys writing poetry, playing saxophone and
clarinet, painting, and the company of his five wonderful
granddaughters. |
 Odonna
Mathews ’72, MBA’82, began her career with an internship at
Giant Food Inc. while still a junior at the University of Maryland.
After graduation she returned to the company full-time and spent 33
years with the company, and 28 as their consumer advisor, before
retiring last year as vice president of consumer affairs.
Mathews became a familiar and trusted presence in the
Baltimore-Washington, D.C., metropolitan region for her TV and radio
spots, as well as the weekly column she wrote for Giant Food ads.
Long before the nation’s focus on obesity and health, Mathews
initiated precedent-setting programs to educate consumers about fat,
fiber, sodium, and cholesterol. Through labels, shelf tags,
booklets, and other means, she educated consumers about healthy
products and diets and provided them with credible, accurate
information about the food they were eating. “When I started at
Giant, consumers were not well informed
about nutrition or food safety,” says Mathews. “Today’s consumers
are more savvy and educated.”
Supermarkets have also changed a great deal since Mathews began
her career, in part because of the enormous amounts of health and
nutrition information readily available to consumers through the
Internet. “I’ve seen more of a focus on fresh food, and there’s a
growing desire for more natural and organic products. More and more
retailers and manufacturers are developing health programs and
offering organic and private label foods as well. Giant was a
pioneer in this area, but it’s great to see other companies doing
more to assist consumers with their health concerns.”
Mathews found it very exciting to work for Esther Peterson, who
originated the position of consumer advisor at Giant, and who
Mathews had studied in college. “Esther encouraged me to get my
graduate degree,” says Mathews. “Having that great degree from
Maryland can take a student in so many directions. The reputation of
the school has grown so much over the years.”
The University of Maryland honored Mathews in 1998 with the
President’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, presented to alumni who
have been nationally recognized for excellence in their field. She
has served on the Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors,
and is now on the Board of Visitors for the College of Health and
Human Performance.
Mathews is vice president and consumer advisor of her own
consulting company, Cotandy Inc., and is enjoying the opportunity to
spend more time at home with her husband and two children, now in
elementary and high school. |
