Charles Anderson (businessman)

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Charles A. Anderson (November 14, 1917 – April 17, 2009) was an American businessman who led SRI International as CEO and president from 1968 to 1980. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, and his family soon moved to Berkeley, California. He earned a BS in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1938 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1940. He married Betty Rushforth in 1942 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he briefly taught at Harvard before returning to California in 1948, where he became vice president of Magna Power Tool Company.

From 1958 to 1961, Anderson was associate dean and a professor at Stanford Business School. In 1961, he became vice president of finance for Kern County Land Company and later served as CEO of its Walker Manufacturing and J.I. Case subsidiaries. Kern County was purchased by Tenneco in August 1967. In 1968, Anderson became CEO of SRI International, a position he held until his retirement in 1980.

Anderson also served on the boards of several major companies, including Conoco, Boise Cascade, Eaton Corporation, NCR Corporation, Owens Corning, Saga Foods (purchased by Marriott Corporation), and Kansai Research Institute (now KRI, Inc.). He was on the Air Force Systems Command Board of Visitors and received the Air Force Exceptional Service Award. He was named Bay Area Harvard Business School Business Statesman of the Year.