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A picture taken on Sep
29, 2000 shows former director of French tyre company Michelin, Francois
Michelin, posing in Paris. (Photo: AFP/Georges Gobet)
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Francois Michelin, who led the eponymous French tyre group
for nearly half a century, died at the age of 88, the Clermont-Ferrand-based
company said on Wednesday (Apr 29).
"We have learned
today with deep emotion that Mr. Francois Michelin has passed away," a
Michelin statement said, without giving further details.
AFP reports:
"Mr Francois
Michelin dedicated his life to the company. He headed it for 47 years, when he
handed over the reins to his son Edouard. A visionary and a humanitarian, (he)
tirelessly embodied the values of respect that are the very foundation of our
Group's identity," the statement said.
Michelin became director
of the company in 1955, and helped transform it into one of the world's top
three tyre manufacturers alongside Bridgestone and Goodyear.
In 1999 Michelin vacated
the group's top spot to make way for Edouard, whose 2006 drowning death during
a boating incident left France stunned.
Famous for a discretion
that earned him the title of "France's most secretive boss" by the
national press, Francois Michelin was one of several family members who
directed the company founded in 1889 by his grandfather.
Capable of inspiring
respect and fear in equal measure, Michelin was generally hailed as one of the
country's most accomplished industrialists, and the champion of a company and
product whose name is closely associated with France itself.
"Francois Michelin
carried the values of French industry on high across the world: innovation,
vision, discipline and passion," tweeted French Prime Minister Manuel
Valls at word of his death.
"On behalf of the
Group's employees, I would like to pay special tribute to this exceptional man
who was universally respected for his values, his convictions, and his
vision," said Jean-Dominique Senard, Michelin's current chairman.
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