Edward Donley

Donley served as Air Products' CEO from 1973 to 1986. Donley also served as board chairman from 1978 to 1986, and president and chief operating officer from 1966 to 1978. Born in Detroit in 1921, Donley graduated from the Lawrence Institute of Technology, Southfield, Mich., in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He joined Air Products the same year, designing portable oxygen generators for Allied bombers in World War II. He rose through the ranks at Air Products, earning a spot on the board of directors in 1957. In 1959, he completed Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. Donley served on multiple corporate boards and on the board of the Chemical Manufacturers Association. He was also a member of the Business Roundtable, NASA Advisory Council, National Endowment for Democracy and Business-Higher Education Forum. He helped found Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children and chaired the Lehigh Valley Business-Education Partnership between 1989 and 1992. He and his late wife Inez gave most of their assets to the The Donley Foundation. The Donley Foundation, a trust now run by the Donleys' children and grandchildren, has granted millions of dollars to literacy and early-childhood education groups.