John Young accomplishments outside HP

 Previous posts noted points about John Young's HP career, but the obituary accurately and appropriately mentioned his work on the national stage as well;

"John's impact extended well beyond the corporate world. Appointed by President Reagan in 1983, he chaired the President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, uniting leaders across sectors to enhance U.S. innovation and economic strength. He later founded the Council on Competitiveness to continue this vital work. He also co-chaired President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and helped establish both the Computer Systems Policy Project and Smart Valley, Inc."

"John served on the boards of numerous global corporations, including Chevron (and ChevronTexaco), Wells Fargo, GlaxoSmithKline, Lucent Technologies, Agere Systems, Affymetrix, and Novell. He was also active in the Business Council and Business Roundtable."

Ray and I debated whether to include the passages in The HP Phenomenon about John Young's discouragement with George Bush Sr.'s ignorance about technology, and Young's subsequent role in helping to get Clinton elected,, but after watching the horror show in Washington today, and the greedy toadies who masquerade as thoughtful leaders in Silicon Valley today, I am thankful that we included pages 376-379 describing John's singular efforts and the unfortunate aftermath with David Packard.   Not one of Packard's more sterling moments; certainly one of Young's most salient efforts.

Bay area residents probably have little appreciation for another role.   The obit mentions that John was "a passionate outdoorsman.  He was an avid fly fisherman who traveled the world and frequently returned to Alaska and Idaho's Teton River. He was also a skilled pilot and enjoyed pheasant hunting each fall."  This outdoor perspective played out for the Bay area.  John and Rosemary contributed heavily to the Peninsula Open Space Trust, this note from Rosemary's obituary: "Rosemary was a natural philanthropic entrepreneur and enjoyed being active in the community. The Peninsula Community Foundation was a small organization with a part-time executive when she joined the board. She became chair in 1971, hired a full-time director, and then helped to build a robust organization to raise awareness and funds that were matched with community nonprofits that needed support. The Peninsula Community Foundation merged with a similar community foundation in 2006 to form the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, now one of the largest in the country. Rosemary was an early and enthusiastic supporter of women’s causes. She volunteered to help start the Center for Research on Women as an independent institute at Stanford in 1974. Using her network and fundraising skills, the institute was launched, and its innovative approach was quickly successful and became fully endowed. Rosemary always had a special interest in open spaces and the outdoors. She was a founder and the first Board chair of the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) at its creation in 1985. An innovative organization that raises funds to buy important parcels of open space as they became available. Thousands of acres have been preserved for everyone’s enjoyment."