He has lived an extraordinary life rubbing shoulders with some of the most prominent men and women of his time. He has been quoted and followed through the media like a rock-star of sorts. Only, Lee Iacocca isn’t a Hollywood star. He is a CEO superstar and many have mirrored his tactics and beliefs just hoping to experience similar success.

Lee Iacocca was born in 1924 in Pennsylvania. He graduated from a local high school in Allentown. He earned his degree in industrial engineering from Lehigh University. After being awarded the Wallace Memorial Fellowship, Iacocca went to Princeton University where some of his electives included politics and plastics. He then went to work for Ford Motor Company.

Entering the Ford Motor Company line-up as an engineer, it didn’t take Iacocca long to figure out that he didn’t like it. He joined the company’s sales force moving up in the corporate world to product development. He would later go on to become the President of Ford Motor Company but couldn’t get along with Henry Ford II so he was fired. This was on the heels of a two billion dollar profit for Ford’s fiscal year.

Chrysler pursued Iacocca and he joined the company bringing with him various team members from Ford as well as ideas that he had for the Ford Motor Company. Lee Iacocca took the reins at Chrysler when they were on the verge of bankruptcy but he was able to turn the company around. His tactics were, at first, doubted and questioned. However, he had a strong sense of direction and he knew how to make Chrysler profitable and he did it.

Lee Iacocca’s first wife died because of complications from diabetes. Today, his efforts with the Iacocca Foundation for Diabetes Research gains well deserved praise. His work in philanthropy can not be denied because of his hands-on approach. In 2007, Lee Iacocca’s book Where Have All The Leaders Gone (co-authored by Catherine Whitney) created a political stir turning more than a few heads.

Today, Lee Iacocca is a living symbol of great men of the past. He will go down in history alongside historical greats like Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie. He is the symbol of American pride and culture. Love him or hate him, he’s earned respect and deserves to enjoy it.