It was June 1961 in Salt Lake City. Mark H. Willes and his bride of five days, Fayone Bingham, crammed everything they could into the back seat of a broken-down Ford and set out for Columbia University.
The car broke down every night. When they finally reached New York City, they had no apartment. But they had each other and one major ambition: to have Mark finish school, go back to Utah, get a job at Walker Bank - like his father had - and make $20,000 a year.That modest goal seems almost laughable now, considering the 47-year-old native Salt Laker is president of General Mills. His rapidfire achievements surprised even his parents, the late Joseph and Ruth Hinckley Willes. His wife is still incredulous.
"We never sought or aspired to these things," says Fayone, citing the couple's philosophy to "move down the road just as far and as fast as you can, so that you're ready to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way."
"We just went as far and as fast as we could," she says, "and when the opportunities came, we were ready."
Willes graduated from Columbia in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in economics and statistics, then followed that with a Ph.D. in economics and finance four years later.
His first job after graduation was assistant professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, work which he felt was perfect for his academic background.
In 1967, he started work as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, despite the fact he did not have the requisite MBA. He was named first vice president in 1971.
Six years later, when Willes became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis at age 35, he was the youngest person ever elected by the Governors of the Federal Reserve System to head one of its district banks. Time Magazine for August 1979 named him one of the "Fifty Faces for America's Future."
In June 1980, Willes resigned to take a position at General Mills as executive vice president and chief financial officer. In November 1985, he was elected president of General Mills Inc., with responsibility for all operating groups in the corporation, whose slogan is "The Company of Champions."
Willes is as surprised as anyone at the turns his life has taken since he first set out for New York in 1959. Nevertheless, he credits his parents with giving him self-confidence and his religious training with teaching him to set goals.
"Growing up in the family I did, there was an enormous amount of acceptance. We were made to feel we could do anything we set our mind to," Willes remembers.
Among his early achievements was serving from 1959-60 as student body president at West High School, where he sang in the a cappella choir and took dates to performances of the Utah Symphony and Tabernacle Choir.
Fayone was among those dates. The two met in an economics class at West High following Mark's election. Fayone had been dating his campaign opponent and was drawn to Mark out of curiosity at first.
"But I sensed very early the depth of his intellect," she recalls. "We could talk together on any subject."
His future wife also felt he would be successful as a person, "that he would always try to be the very best he could be." And she felt he would encourage her progress as well as his own. After a long-distance romance while Mark went to Columbia and Fayone attended the University of Utah, they were married in June 1961, at the end of Mark's sophomore year.
Fayone admits she has to work hard to keep up her own progress and stay abreast of her husband's accomplishments. After their five children were in school, she returned to complete her college degree at the University of Minnesota, receiving a bachelor's degree in American studies in 1985.
She spends much time researching family history and genealogy and is currently putting together a history of the Minneapolis Stake.
The family moved into a new home two years ago in Wayzata, a western suburb of Minneapolis, a 15-minute commute from General Mills' corporate offices. The family enjoys boating and water skiing on the many lakes in the area. They've also just bought a cabin in Wisconsin, about two hours away.
Family togetherness has always been important to Mark and Fayone, whose children have happy memories of annual car trips back to Utah to visit the grandparents and cousins.
Willes gets as involved in his family when he's home as he does in his work while he's at the office. Says his wife, "I feel he's always been an on-the-job dad. When he walks through the door after work, we know he's ours." His work is left at the office. He has kept his own rule of never studying or working on Sunday, says Fayone, "and that's essentially given our family another day."
A weekly night for the family has been held inviolate - so much so that when a news reporter phoned Willes for his reaction to an important presidential speech on the economy, the respected economist apologized for not having seen it on TV. "It's our family night," he explained. "I figured I could read about the speech in tomorrow's paper."
Son Matt, 14, is the only child still at home for the moment. Two older brothers are serving LDS missions in London and Scotland, and an older sister is working in Salt Lake. The oldest daughter will soon move to Minneapolis, while her husband completes a medical residency. The Willeses are ecstatic; their first grandson, Adam, is included in the package.
Willes' executive talents have been put to use for years in church leadership positions. He's recently been released as president of the Minneaplois Stake and served as a counselor for five years before that. Between "only" teaching a Sunday school class and having his grandchild nearby, he says, "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven."
While it may appear he's gone soft, his wife assures that once her husband feels something is right, he is not easily swayed, although he is open to other ideas. One business associate described him as having velvet skin and a backbone of steel.
Fayone notes that the Mark Willes the world sees is the same man his family knows. "The polished exterior is not superficial," says Fayone. "It's just the way he is. He just quietly goes about doing what he thinks is right."
Willes claims his three-miles-a-day run - the only diversion that he has time for - helps ease stress and diffuse anger. He also has a penchant for order, so much so that roommates at Columbia dubbed him "The Monk" because his side of the room was always immaculate.
Such characteristics have undoubtedly served Willes well in the upper echelons of corporate business. And he places importance on similar traits in others as he gently guides "the company of champions."
"You have to invest in the right kind of people," Willes says. "Ultimately, it's people who make the difference in whether a company is successful or not."
His formula for a successful business seems to echo his personal life: "You've got to virtually be better than everybody else at what you do. Find out what you do best, then focus on those things."
And while you're doing them, he adds, "Work hard. Have high standards. Be fair. Treat other people the way you'd like to be treated."
Simple? Yes. "But I've found it effective," says this gentle giant of General Mills. And he should know.