Charles W. Nash

Charles Williams Nash (1864 to 1948) was an American automobile executive who rose from farm labor and carriage-factory upholstery work to head General Motors and then to found his own car company. Hired in 1890 by William C. Durant at the Flint Road Cart Company, he became vice president and general manager of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, and in 1910 moved to Buick to oversee production. He was elected the fifth president of General Motors in November 1912 and is credited with restoring its finances and organization before resigning in 1916 when Durant regained control. That year he bought the Thomas B. Jeffery Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, maker of the Rambler, and in 1917 renamed it Nash Motors. The firm stayed profitable by building one well-made car in the upper-medium price range and by buying distressed Wisconsin makers such as Mitchell and LaFayette. He stepped down as president in 1932, arranged the 1937 merger with Kelvinator, and died in Beverly Hills in 1948.