Friday, January 9, 2015
In Memory of Jack O’Donnell By Craig Thomas I was introduced to Jack in 1992, at a time when I was leaving the religious life. I was just a year away from final vows, but it was clear that I was a being called in a different direction. So I asked a good friend who knew many catholic CEO’s, through his role running an organization called Legatus, if he had any contacts or could recommend a good good company. Without a moment’s hesitation, he started talking about Jack O’Donnell, as a man of exceptional integrity, and a business leader who truly lives his faith in the market place. I was intrigued. I ended up spending over 20 years working for High Performance Tube, the company that Jack started and his sons continued to lead and grow. I was fortunate to find such a great company and start my business career in such a great environment. I was able to make a contribution to the HPT success story and build a career to support my growing family. I am truly indebted to Jack, and honored to have known him, worked for him, and to be part of the HPT legacy. From what I have observed, Jack was a man who embraced his vocation as husband, father, and business man with great love and dedication. I used to think that the saints are people who were perfect, made no mistakes, had no personality flaws, never hurt anyone’s feelings, never committed sins, and touched millions of lives. But the Catholic Church teaches that sanctity is primarily about learning how to love, and exercising heroic virtue in the ordinary duties of life, and that there are millions of undeclared and unknown saints up there praying for us, and cheering us on. I envision Jack in that company, and I draw encouragement from that, and my prayer is that the family and friend he has left behind can do the same. When I first joined HPT, I noticed that every day, like clockwork, Jack would drop everything and rush out the door to catch a noon mass. He loved the Eucharist, and you could tell that it was real spiritual food for him, a real encounter, not just some pious duty. It was his life blood, the fuel sustaining his magnanimous output. It really inspired me to think about my own life and how to balance the demands of work in the world with the spiritual life. On the rare occasion I got to go out to lunch with Jack after mass, I realized there were other things almost as important to him as the Eucharist, such as the perfect Martini, and fresh, properly cooked sea-Scallops. He could opine on these things with the same passion and eloquence as a debate on the sanctity of life, or the theology of Thomas Aquinas, or the heat transfer benefits of finned tubing. Jack had a passion for excellence in business and he poured himself into serving customers and leading a company. He was creative, strategic and cleaver but also very principled in what was simply right and wrong. I think his greatest strength in business was his charisma and ability to engage and impact people. He could probe and retrieve intel from the tightest lipped purchasing agents. He could enthrall and entertain a customer or supplier with great story telling. If it was clear the other party had the interest and the capacity to engage in the deeper questions of life, then he provided rich and intellectually stimulating food for conversation. It was a an enriching and rewarding experience to engage in conversation with Jack, and to be in his presence, and so naturally he built very strong relationships that became the foundation of his business success. Many successful men end up getting their ego far too entangled in their work, or product, and they become leaders that control, coerce, manipulate, and can’t let go. Many companies do not last more than one generation because of this. Jack had strong opinions, and saw things black and white at times when others might see a few more shades of gray, but he was a truly humble man in the sense that it was never really about him, it was about doing the right thing, understanding the truth, and giving the glory of God. He exuded confidence and instilled it in others, and made room for others to step up and grow. He gave his sons real responsibility to become the next generation leaders in the company, even while he was still active in the company, and he was able to let go completely when the time was right, and to let them fly. A lot of what I want to honor in Jack is also reflected in his sons John and Bob who I worked with even closer over the years. We had our issues and struggles, but we didn’t have the big one that cripples so many companies, which is the ego drama at the senior management level. I was able to thrive and grow as a person and as a business leader in this environment, and so did others, because the company culture was a truly Christian culture. Ultimately this is a reflection on the man that Jack was, and part of his legacy. I regret I could not be at Jack’s funeral mass, because I know it would be such a beautiful experience to celebrate the life of a man who so ardently yearned for God, to know Him, to Love Him and to please him, and to know he is finally at rest in the fulfillment of his desire. Who knows, there might even be a plate of sea scallops reserved at his place at the Heavenly banquet. May Jack rest in peace, in the loving embrace of the one he sought with his whole heart.
