Joseph (Joe) Hara
Hara in front of Tupperware Display Circa 1970
Born
Joseph Hara

(1925-12-29)December 29, 1925[1]
Chicago, Illinois
DiedDecember 24, 2017 (aged 91)
Longwood, Florida
Occupation(s)American businessman, President and CEO (Tupperware International)
EmployerPar-T-Wise (Tupperware Distributor) 1953-63 Tupperware International (1963-86)
Known forTupperware
SpouseAnita Greenberg Hara (m. 1947) (d. 2018)

Joseph Hara (December 29, 1925 – December 24, 2017) was an American businessman and philanthropist.[2] Hara was best known for his time at Tupperware, where he served as a President and CEO of Tupperware Worldwide for 20 years from 1971 . Under his leadership, the company expanded to over 35 countries and 23 manufacturing plants.[3][4]

Biography

During World War II, Hara served in the South Pacific as a radio operator on airplanes. He started his career as a door-to-door stocking salesman. Shortly after, he and his brother Sam Hara opened Hara's Linen and Children's Wear in Chicago.

In 1951 Hara learned about a burgeoning product called Tupperware. He established his first distributorship, Par-T-Wise, with his cousin Jim Hara who ran a distributorship in Chicago.[5] Par-T-Wise quickly grew to become the largest Tupperware distributorship in the U.S with 35 managers and over 800 sales agents.[6][7]

In 1963, Hara divided his Midwest distributorship into 8 different territories and sold them off to move to Orlando with his family to join the Tupperware management team as Vice President of Sales. In Orlando, Hara forged strong relationships with Tupperware President Hamer Wilson and Chairman, Justin Dart. In 1966, Hara was named as the President of Tupperware U.S for the next three years and in 1970, he was promoted to President of Tupperware International.[8][9] Under Hara's leadership, Tupperware experienced unprecedented growth worldwide.[10] Hara was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes in 1976 alongside Morley Safer.In 1985 ,Hara retired after 33 years as a top executive at Tupperware, and spent the next three decades serving on boards for several groups, including the Jewish Federation of Orlando, The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center, Habitat for Humanity and the Brevard Music Festival.

Hara was an early champion of women in the workplace. In 2016 he wrote the following remembrance of his tenure leading Tupperware. "In the past 70 years of my life I have had the enormous pleasure of witnessing the untapped reservoir of female intelligence. The truth is that women dominate intellectually. I have observed this in my economic life having been exposed to thousands of women who, being made aware there are no restrictions, no limit to what they are free to achieve, do incredible things."

Philanthropy

Hara and his wife were extremely active in Orlando and the Jewish Community. They were particularly proud of their involvement with JFS, an organization that provides food and counseling to people from all walks of life. They had also been longtime supporters of: The Jewish Federation of Orlando, the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center, TOP Jewish Foundation, Foundation for Blindness, Habitat for Humanity, Orlando Museum of Art, United Way Human Resources, Friends of Santa Claus, The Jewish Academy, Congregation Ohev Shalom, Kinneret Council on Aging, the Brevard Music Festival, among others. They had both served on many of their boards throughout the years.[11]

Personal life and death

Hara and his wife Anita Greenberg were married in 1947 in Chicago and resided in Longwood, Florida. They had 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

Hara died on December 24, 2017, surrounded by his family in his home in Longwood, Florida.[5] His wife of more than 70 years, Anita, died four months later at the age of 92.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Miniaturemuseums". Highbeam. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  2. ↑ Biggart, Nicole Woolsey (1989). Charismatic Capitalism: Direct Selling Organizations in America. University of Chicago Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780226047867. joe hara tupperware.
  3. ↑ HUTCHISON, KRISTAN. "A little gumption led to a lifetime of Tupperware sales for Gerry Pomeroy | Juneau Empire - Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper". juneauempire.com. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  4. ↑ Miller, Daniel (2001). Consumption: Disciplinary approaches to consumption. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415242691.
  5. 1 2 Arnold, Kyle. "Tupperware pioneer, Joe Hara, dies at 91 in Longwood". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Block, Elsie (2004-10-20). My Tupperware Party Was Over and I Sat Down and Cried. Author House. ISBN 9781418400408.
  7. ↑ "TUPPERLOVE!". D Magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  8. ↑ "A Company Built In The '50s On Hugs And Parties Became A Roaring Success. Then The World Began To Change". tribunedigital-orlandosentinel. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  9. ↑ Clarke, Alison J. (2014-09-30). Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America. Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 9781588344366.
  10. ↑ "Executive Changes". The New York Times. 1981-02-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  11. ↑ "Joe Hara | Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando". www.orlandojewishfed.org. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  12. ↑ "Obituary - ANITA LORRAINE HARA".
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