Robert E. Hillard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert E. Hillard (November 17, 1917 - March 15, 2000), together with his friend and business partner Alfred Fleishman, established Fleishman-Hillard in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946. The firm has since grown to become one of the world’s leading public relations agencies.

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hillard was a Phi Beta Kappa and a summa cum laude journalism graduate of the University of Minnesota. He went to work after graduation in 1939 as a reporter for the Des Moines Register and Tribune, after which he moved to the old St. Louis Star-Times.

Hillard served as a U.S. Navy Lieutenant in the Pacific during World War II. Shortly after the war, he and Fleishman decided to go into business together – the two having met years earlier when Hillard covered the civil courts for the Star-Times, while Fleishman served as deputy court clerk. The firm's first offices were in modest quarters above a St. Louis Woolworth's store.

Hillard later said he had three reasons for entering the public relations business. "First, I'd be my own boss. Second, I figured I'd make more money than in the newspaper business. But third, there was an intellectual reason. Large corporations tended to separate management from employees, and this led to misunderstandings, conflicts, the formation of unions, and strikes. I believed this was partly a result of poor communications. If people got to know each other, they could solve many of their problems – common sense communication. I thought it would be a great field, and it still is."

In the early years, Hillard served as the thinker, strategist, writer, and office manager for the venture while Fleishman focused on working in the community and building the business. It did not take them long to attract their first clients – Union Electric (now Ameren UE of St. Louis) and Anheuser-Busch. Asked years later about the factors that influenced the firm's early success, Hillard said: "We started a business that grew and prospered. Thanks to our efforts and those of superb associates, we attracted major clients. They were served well. They helped spread the word about the agency and the effectiveness of quality PR service."

Hillard stepped down as the firm's CEO in 1974, but remained active with the company and its clients until his retirement in 1982. His civic activities included presidency of the Urban League of St. Louis, as well as active involvement with the Health and Welfare Council of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Logos School.

In 1996, Hillard and Fleishman received special lifetime achievement awards from the influential industry publication, Inside PR (now The Holmes Report.) In 1998, Hillard received a special distinguished Alumni Award from the Minnesota Daily, the University of Minnesota newspaper which he served as editor-in-chief in 1938-39.

In the years following his retirement, Hillard remained active in preserving the culture of the firm he co-founded, serving as Fleishman-Hillard’s unofficial company historian and writing a column for the firm’s employee newsletter.

Hillard died in March 2000 at his home in the small town of Caledonia, Mo. He was 82.