David Packard Biography Quotes 4 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
David Packard was born on September 7, 1912, in Pueblo, Colorado, and grew up with a fascination for radios, tools, and the mechanics of how things worked. He enrolled at Stanford University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering in 1934. At Stanford he met William R. Hewlett, a partnership that would shape modern Silicon Valley, and came under the mentorship of Professor Frederick Terman, who encouraged his students to bridge academic research and entrepreneurial action. After a stint as an engineer at General Electric in Schenectady, New York, Packard returned to Stanford and completed a master's degree in electrical engineering in 1938.

Founding Hewlett-Packard
In 1939, Packard and Hewlett launched Hewlett-Packard in a one-car garage at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, with modest capital and a shared conviction that precise electronic measurement would underpin new industries. Their first major product, the HP 200A audio oscillator, gained early traction when Walt Disney Studios ordered units to develop innovative sound effects for the film Fantasia. Incorporating in 1947, HP expanded rapidly as Packard guided operations, manufacturing, and finance while Hewlett led much of product engineering. Packard served as president from 1947 to 1964, became chief executive in 1964, and helped establish a diversified portfolio in test and measurement, medical electronics, calculators, and eventually computers and printing.

The HP Way and Management Philosophy
Packard and Hewlett built a distinctive culture known as the HP Way, emphasizing trust, respect for individuals, decentralized decision-making, and a relentless focus on customers and engineering excellence. Packard championed practices such as management by walking around, open communication, and broad-based profit sharing, believing that motivated teams would out-innovate competitors. The duo's complementary strengths created an enduring model for technology companies: Terman's influence framed the academic-industry bridge; Hewlett's engineering rigor drove product breakthroughs; and Packard's operational discipline scaled those innovations. In the 1990s, Packard codified many of these principles in his reflections on leadership and corporate purpose.

Public Service and Defense Reform
In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed Packard U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense under Secretary Melvin Laird. Bringing an engineer's temperament to the Pentagon, Packard pushed for disciplined procurement, cost visibility, and a policy of fly-before-buy to ensure systems were tested thoroughly before mass production. He advocated clearer lines of authority and more realistic budgeting and scheduling for major programs. After returning to California in 1971, Packard resumed his leadership role at HP, serving as chairman and guiding the company through an era that saw the emergence of products such as handheld scientific calculators and the early foundations of personal computing. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan tapped him to chair the Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, widely known as the Packard Commission, which recommended reforms to acquisition, joint operations, and oversight that influenced subsequent legislation and Pentagon practice.

Philanthropy and Family
Packard's impact reached well beyond industry and government through the philanthropy he built with his wife, Lucile Salter Packard. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, established in 1964, became a major force in supporting children and families, conservation, science, and community initiatives. The couple's support for Stanford University was extensive, spanning engineering, the sciences, and medicine. The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, opened in 1991, reflected their deep commitment to pediatric care and to improving the health of children.

Packard's family played central roles in advancing his philanthropic vision. His daughters Susan Packard Orr and Nancy Packard Burnett, his son David Woodley Packard, and his daughter Julie Packard each carried aspects of the family mission forward. Julie Packard helped lead the creation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, opened in 1984, a project galvanized by family support and dedicated to marine science, conservation, and public education. David Woodley Packard was closely associated with large-scale cultural and preservation efforts. The interwoven endeavors of the family broadened the foundation's reach across science, culture, and environmental stewardship.

Later Leadership and Legacy
Packard retired from active management in the 1990s but remained a powerful voice on corporate responsibility and the social obligations of business. He emphasized that a company's purpose was not just to make money, but to make a contribution. Under the long partnership of Packard and Hewlett, HP became a global model for engineering-led growth, employee engagement, and principled leadership. The pair received major national recognition for their contributions to technology and industry, and their names became synonymous with the rise of Silicon Valley from a cluster of laboratories to a worldwide innovation ecosystem.

David Packard died on March 26, 1996, in Stanford, California. He left behind a durable blueprint for building institutions that balance performance with humanity: a company that reshaped electronics and computing; public-service reforms that improved stewardship of taxpayer dollars; and a philanthropic legacy, carried forward by Lucile and their children, that continues to strengthen science, education, conservation, and health. His closest collaborators and companions, William R. Hewlett, Frederick Terman, Melvin Laird, Lucile Salter Packard, and his children, were integral to a life that fused engineering rigor with civic purpose, setting a standard for leadership that remains influential across industry, government, and the nonprofit world.

Our collection contains 4 quotes who is written by David, under the main topics: Marketing - Vision & Strategy - Learning from Mistakes - Congratulations.

Other people realated to David: William Redington Hewlett (Businessman)