Robert C. Townsend
Robert C. Townsend (d. 1998) drew upon his early experiences as a banker at American Express Co. to redirect Avis Rent-a-Car as president and chairman. Under his leadership, Avis experienced a celebrated turnaround, fueled by the "We Try Harder" advertising campaign. Townsend also worked as an executive at 20th Century Fox and was director at several companies, including Dun and Bradstreet and Radica Games. Townsend was a celebrity in his own right, and a frequent lecturer and talk-show guest.
1 Books Written
Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits
by Robert C. Townsend
Although it was first published more than thirty-five years ago, "Up the Organization" continues to top the lists of best business books by groups as diverse as the American Management Association, "Strategy + Business" (Booz Allen Hamilton), and The Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. 1-800-CEO-READ ranks Townsend's bestseller first among eighty books that "every manager must rea