Entrepreneur extends a helping hand as a mentor

William F. Pickard, Ph.D.

Age: 61
Residence: Bloomfield Hills
Occupation: Chairman and chief executive officer, Global Automotive Alliance LLC, a Detroit-based group of minority automotive suppliers
Honored: For his entrepreneurship, teaching and commitment to mentoring future leaders

n the middle 1950s, William F. Pickard and his parents left little LaGrange, Ga., for Flint, then a thriving auto town.

    The elder Pickards chased economic security on a General Motors Corp. assembly line. But their son — who could recite Henry David Thoreau from memory — was close to failing most of his classes at Flint Northern High School.

    “Among black kids, newcomers were called ‘Russians,’ ” Pickard said. “We were outsiders coming from another planet. I just wandered around, trying to fit in.”

    That was until Helen Steele intervened. His English teacher told Pickard he had a great mind — and he should use it. She was the first of many mentors in Pickard’s 40-year career as civil rights activist, educator, entrepreneur and civic leader.

    Today, Pickard is chairman of Global Automotive Alliance LLC in Detroit, a group of minority auto suppliers with 2001 sales of $215 million. It is one of the country’s leading minority-owned companies.

    That he became a mentor himself is as much a part of Pickard’s legacy as are his professional accomplishments. Hiram Jackson considered leaving Ford Motor Co. a decade ago when a friend arranged a meeting with Pickard, hoping he would talk the 25-year-old Jackson out of starting his own business. Pickard, though, encouraged Jackson, who opened an auto collision shop.

    “I was calling him twice a week asking for advice,” said Jackson, who is now chief executive of GlobalView Technologies LLC, a $90-million Detroit firm that manages large computer projects. “He really took time out to set me on the right path, introduce me to the right people and challenge me.”

    A social worker by training, Pickard set out in the early 1960s to change the world, partly through a stint at the Urban League. He became an entrepreneur, believing financial success could be a springboard to community service. A chance meeting with a McDonald’s Corp. executive in 1969 led to ownership of seven McDonald’s eateries.

    His most important alliance came in 1985, when Francis Kornegay, a mentor at the Urban League, arranged lunch with Henry Ford II. Pickard hoped to add car dealer to his resume.

    “We need black suppliers,” Ford told him over Dover sole in a dining room at Ford headquarters.

    A husband and father of one daughter, Pickard’s community involvement deepened with his professional achievements.

    He is on the board of Detroit Renaissance and Standard Federal Bank and teaches at the University of Michigan, where he earned a master’s degree and co-founded the Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development program.

    “My success in life was just because — oftentimes for me, thank God — there were many people like Helen Steele,” Pickard said. “I always felt good about wrapping my arms around people and helping them achieve their goals.”

— Susan Carney