François Michelin (15 June 1926 – 29 April 2015) was a French heir and businessman. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Michelin from 1955 to 1999. Under his leadership, a family business founded by his grandfather became the leading global tire manufacturer, dominating the market in Europe and the US. A practising Roman Catholic, he was idiosyncratically non-hierarchical and conducted business from his hometown of Clermont-Ferrand in the rural Auvergne.
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Early life
François Michelin was born on 15 June 1926 in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France.
His grandfather, Édouard Michelin, was the founder of Michelin, when it was known as Michelin & Cie. His father was Étienne Michelin and his mother, Madeleine Callies. He became an orphan at the age of ten.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
Career
Michelin started his career in 1951. He worked under a false name with regular factory workers, to learn on the job. He first worked as a fitter, then a driver, and later in sales and marketing.