Jose Joseph Dedeurwaerder (born December 31, 1932) is a Belgian business executive who served as chief executive officer of American Motors Corporation and Interbrew.
Early life
Dedeurwaerder was born in Brussels on December 31, 1932, to Louis and Philippine (Paternot) Dedeurwaerder. On May 15, 1954, he married Nelly Antoinette Clemens. They have one daughter.[2]
Career
Renault
Dedeurwaerder joined Renault in 1958 as manufacturing director at the Vilvoorde Renault Factory. From 1967 to 1973, he was the industrial director for Renault Argentina. He then spent the next three years as the chief executive officer of Renault México. In 1976, he became the director of stamping and assembly at the Douai Renault Factory.[3]
American Motors
On December 16, 1980, Renault became the principal owner of American Motors.[4] The following September, Dedeurwaerder joined AMC as executive vice president for manufacturing.[3] In 1982, Gerald C. Meyers stepped down as chairman and CEO of American Motors. Meyers was replaced by president W. Paul Tippett Jr., who in turn was succeeded by Dedeurwaerder.[5] On September 28, 1984, Dedeurwaerder was promoted to CEO, with Tippett remaining on as chairman.[6] On February 25, 1985, AMC announced its first full-year profit since 1979.[7] The success was short-lived as on July 31, 1985, AMC announced that it has received a $50 million loan from Renault following a second-quarter loss of $70.4 million.[8] In January 1986, Dedeurwaerder was named Renault's executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.[9] He remained president and CEO, and chairman of the executive committee at AMC until March 23, 1986, when he was succeeded in the former two roles by Joseph E. Cappy.[10] On November 17, 1986, Renault chairman Georges Besse was assassinated by a member of a French far-left extremist group, Action Directe.[11] Dedeurwaerder was mentioned as a possible successor, but the company instead went with Raymond Levy, who wanted to divest Renault of its investment in American Motors.[11][12][13] On March 9, 1987, Chrysler purchased Renault's share in American Motors, plus all the remaining shares, for about $1.5 billion ($4,022,847,100 in 2023 dollars[14]).[13]
Interbrew
Dedeurwaerder left Renault in January 1988.[15] That September, he joined the of executive committee Interbrew, a new brewing company formed by the merger of Brouwerij Artois and Piedboeuf Brewery, with the plan that he would succeed chief executive officer Andre de Spoelberch by the end of the year.[16] During his tenure with Interbrew, Dedeurwaerder clashed with the families who owned the company over international expansion. Dedeurwaerder wanted to make acquisitions that would turn the company into a global player like Heineken N.V. or Guinness Brewery. In contrast, the board of directors wanted to focus on Interbrew's existing markets. Dedeurwaerder left Interbrew in February 1993.[17]
Later life
After leaving Interbrew, Dedeurwaerder moved to a 130-acre horse ranch in Montgomery, Texas.[17] From 1993 to 1995, he was the president of Modern Engineering – an automotive engineering firm owned by CDI Corporation.[18][19]
^"Belgian Brewer Selects Jose Dedeurwaerder To Become New Chief". The Wall Street Journal. June 21, 1988.
^ abHagerty, Bob (March 26, 1993). "Stella Performance: Fiery Executive Has Some Parting Advice For Midsized Concerns --- Get Bigger or Get Swamped". The Wall Street Journal.
^"CDI Corp.'s Modern taps Dedeurwaerder for post of president". The Wall Street Journal. November 1, 1993.
^"CDI Corp". The Wall Street Journal. November 24, 1995.
