Frank Morsani
President
Automotive Investments
 

I have been privileged to have been raised by successful parents. They never had the financial ability to provide material goods, but they possessed the common sense, ambition, work ethic, spiritual guidance, love, integrity and honesty to promote excellence in all endeavors and to be kind and generous to your fellowman.

With the above being the underpinning of life and a career I embarked on a fabulous journey. I could never have purchased the ticket, I earned and learned everyday. Being exposed to many values of life at an early age help set the stage. My Father, a pipeline welder, moved annually or more often and the family accompanied him from time to time thereby exposing the family to many regions of our country, thereby exposing us to the various cultures of our own society.

The Korean War exposed me to Asia and its cultures and made an indelible impression. It triggered my interest in reading and history. History, reading and travel have created my philosophy and political initiatives.  Blessed with a wife of keen intellect, it has led us to over 80 countries, not only for enjoyment, but to gather information and import American ideals and ideas to various countries. We have studied the Middle East from the House of Saudi, T. E. Lawrence and Tom Friedman and many authors in between. We have also visited a number of these countries. Studying the countries of the Black Sea and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire at the request of Prime Minister O’Zal of Turkey.

Through an organization called International Executive Corp, we gave of our time to aid businesses in Panama. As a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, I was privileged to represent the America business community throughout North America, Europe and Asia. I became involved in many areas of public policy; tax reform, interstate banking, wage and price controls, white collar crime, ballistic missiles in European countries, and international trade especially in Asia. As an advocate of these positions, I was invited to many countries to visit with political leaders, business leaders and make addresses to many world audiences. In the U.S., I was a keynote speaker on many University Campuses, state and local federations, and many Trade Association meetings. At the same time, I owned and managed 40 companies, not all at the same time; however, we did operate 10 or 12 all the time. We grew a company from 27 employees and 1 million in sales to 1000 employees and 800 million in sales. I have had a grand time.

Philanthropy is a natural extension of business or professional success. Learning, earning and giving are the three stages of our lives. We have a responsibility to leave this life a little better because of our involvement if we can.

I am a life time republican for a very simple reason, I strongly believe in decentralized government vs. centralized government. This is political science 101. Unfortunately this simple definition is not articulated enough or well enough. That does not mean that I agree on all national or state issues, but politics is a work in progress. It is the rudder that counts.

This is a snapshot of a journey that is ongoing, a life so far very fulfilled. I hasten to add there were failures and difficulties along the way, but we, my wife and I, learned to work through them.