Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca (born October 15, 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American industrialist. Among the most widely recognized businessmen in the world, Iacocca is the former chairman of Chrysler Corporation and was a passionate advocate of U.S. business exports during the 1980s.

Early life

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Iacocca was born to Nicola and Antoinette Iacocca, Italian immigrants who had settled in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley region.

Iacocca graduated from Allentown's William Allen High School and Lehigh University in neighboring Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a degree in industrial engineering. He is a notable alumnus of Theta Chi Fraternity. After graduating from Lehigh, he won the Wallace Memorial Fellowship and went to Princeton University, where he took his electives in politics and plastics. He then began a career at Ford Motor Company as an engineer. Unhappy with the job, he switched career paths at Ford, entering the company's sales force. He was very successful in sales and moved up through the ranks of Ford, moving ultimately to product development.

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NPR Topics: Politics & Society

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For many young people in tiny Hemet, Calif., the first stop after graduation is that town's Armed Forces Career Center. More than five years into the Iraq war, the center provides one-stop-shopping for potential Army, Navy and Marine recruits.
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