Michelin Tire Corporation
So You Worked in Corporate America for many years and got to meet a lot of characters over the years....that was me. I was employed by Michelin Tire Coporation from 1969 through 1975. It was those years when the computer was evolving from a typical main frame operation to the introduction of a more moderate type of computer, typically the size of your office copier.
The office copier was about half the size of a VW Beetle back in those days. I remember when one was delivered to our building on 2500 Marcus Avenue in Lake Success, New York. It took three bulky movers to navigate the copier from the moving truck to the second floor at our office building. they had to use heavy duty boards to navigate the stairway coming into the building. back in the early days, Michelin's building was on stilts over the warehouse. In later years, it was enclosed and became the secod floor.
I got to move the new office copier by myself in one quick motion one day. I was new to Michelin, just a few weeks into arriving and working in the accounting department. I was making a few copies with the new copy machine, quietly, minding my own business. I was just getting to know everyone and still trying to remember everyone's names that i was introduced to in the early days.
It was at that point in time that I got to meet one of the women that worked in the Distribution Department. As I was placing a piece of paper on the copier glass, she came up behind me and grabbed me by the seat of my pants and said to me, "Hi, I'm R******, and I hear you're the new accountant." It took me by surprise and I literally pushed the new copier against the wall.
I returned to the Accounting Department and informed my friend, Thomas Hayes, as to what happened at the copier machine. He looked at me and smiled and said that "I See you got to meet, R******." It was my first exposure to working in an international corporation. Nothing surprises me anymore.
The first year at Michelin Tire Corporation was a getting to know you type of year. I worked at Empire State Sugar, Inc. a division of Pepsico, Inc. in New York City. I was there for about two and one half years until they decided to move upstate to Westchester County. Since it would have been a a major inconveniece for me and my family, we decided to make a move to Long Island. So it was a job search on Long Island that came to the fore front.
So, via a family member, I was able to connect with an employment agency that worked on Long Island. After a quick meeting with the family friend, I was set up with an interview at Michelin Tire Corpoation. On the day of the interview, I got to meet with the secretary of the personel department because the head of the personel was on vacation. It was my lucky day, or, as I would say, it was Michelin Tire Corporation's lucky day. They got to interview me.
I forget the secretary's name but she asked me a few questions about my background. She said that they were looking for an accountant with about a year's experience and a college degree. I told her that I had three to four years of accounting experience and was working on my degree at night school. She looked at me and said that I have more than the basic requirements for the position and called my future boss to interview me.
A quick interjection by Marty here: Most of the people that worked for Michelin in the Unted States were at a young age when World War II was running thorugh Europe. So, almost every department had a person that was literally involved in the war. The guy that trained the new sales people was a part of the French Resistance and another one, Otto something, was the head of the Personnel Department. I asked him one day of he would have hired me and he said no. That's a whole other story I'll tell one day.
We talked for a few minutes about my background and the duties that were required for the new accounting position. At the time, John was the Comptroller and one of two accountants in the department. I would be working with my new life time friend, Thomas Hayes. He looked at me and offered me the position. I was now an employee for the largest international tire distributor in America.
Going from the very famous Pepsi Cola Bottling Company to a large international tire distributor was doing wonders for my resume. At this point in time, I went from Morgan Guaranty and Trust Company on Wall Street to Malinckrodt Chemical Company on 42nd Street and then to Pepsico Inc. on Park Avenue and 59th Street to my curent position at Michelin Tire Corporation. I was flying high but I always had South Florida on the horizon for some reason.
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