“There are not enough words to adequately recognize the lifelong accomplishments, contributions and impact of Richard Manoogian. He leaves a legacy which will forever be remembered by Masco Corporation, our employees and the broader community.”
-Jon Nudi, President and CEO of Masco Corporation
Career Highlights
Richard joined Masco Corporation in 1958. He became Vice President and was elected to the Board in 1964. He took over leadership of the Company in 1968 when he was named President and Chief Operating Officer. The following year the Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1985, he was named Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, the Company’s sales grew from $55 million to over $8 billion. In 2007, after almost 50 years with the Company, Richard stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and became Masco’s Executive Chairman. In 2012, he was named Chairman Emeritus.
History of Masco Corporation
Masco Corporation, originally known as Masco Screw Products Company, was founded by Richard’s father, Alex Manoogian, an Armenian immigrant, just eight days before the U.S. stock market crash of 1929. In the early years, the Company’s primary business was manufacturing machined automotive parts. In 1936, the Company’s common stock was offered for public trade. In the 1950s, Alex revolutionized the faucet industry by perfecting the design of the single-lever hot and cold faucet.
The Delta® faucet was one of the first single-handle faucets on the market and quickly became the best-selling faucet brand in the United States. Its success was due in part to Masco’s innovation in marketing and product distribution as the Company was the first to market faucets directly to mass market consumers via television advertisements. The result was a shift in distribution from plumbing wholesalers to retail outlets. By 1958, Delta Faucet Company sales exceeded $1 million. In 1958, Richard Manoogian, a recent Yale University graduate with a degree in economics, joined the Company to oversee the startup of a new faucet operation to address growing demand. From the very beginning, associates described Manoogian as a straightforward, strong and hard-working leader, the kind of person who would not stop working long enough to eat lunch.
The first 10 years of Richard’s tenure with Masco were spent working with his father to increase the company’s value. This goal was met primarily through mergers and acquisitions. In March of 1961, Richard led the completion of Masco’s first acquisition, Peerless Industries. In his mid-twenties, Richard developed, and then oversaw the execution of, a bold expansion plan that ushered in an era of rapid growth at Masco that has rarely been equaled in American industry. From 1960-1980s, the company began expanded its operations into the building and home improvement industries. During that time, Masco acquired more than one hundred companies including Merillat cabinetry, Weiser Lock, Thermador appliances and Baldwin brass, to name a few. The strategy was to reinvest surplus earnings and create opportunities for new growth in different, but related, market sectors.
When Mr. Manoogian stepped down from his role as Chairman and CEO in 2012, his five decades of contributions to the Company were immeasurable. He had been a member of Masco’s Board of Directors for 56 years and Chairman of the Board for over 27 years. During his tenure, he was the architect of the dramatic growth of Masco and navigated Masco through various phases of transformation and diversification, enabling the company to become a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. When he joined the Company in 1958, Company sales were $55 million. When he stepped down in 2007, sales exceeded $8 billion.