American businessman and philanthropist in the state of Oregon
Harry A. Merlo (March 5, 1925 – October 24, 2016) was an American businessman and philanthropist in the state of Oregon. A native of California, he was chief executive of then Fortune 500 company Louisiana-Pacific after it was divested by forest products company Georgia-Pacific, which were both then headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
Early life
Harry A. Merlo was born on March 5, 1925, the son of emigrants from Italy.[1] He grew up in Northern California in Stirling City where his mother ran a boarding house.[2] During World War II he was an officer in the United States Marine Corps.[2] He also graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.[2] After the war he started working in the timber business with Rounds and Kirkpatrick Lumber Company in 1949 where he remained until moving to Georgia-Pacific, another lumber company, in the 1960s.[1][2] He had one son, Harry Merlo Jr. Later in life he married Flo Newton.
Career
Merlo worked for Georgia-Pacific when Louisiana-Pacific (LP) was divested in 1973.[1] He was the CEO of the then Portland, Oregon-based company.[1] In July 1995, he was forced to resign from LP by the board of directors after the company faced several lawsuits over siding problems.[3]
During his time as leader of LP, he also was a professional sports owner. He owned the Portland Timbers, then of the NASL, from 1979 to 1982.[4] As a philanthropist, he donated money to the University of Portland, who named its soccer stadium in his honor.[1] Merlo also donated funds to the World Forestry Center and St. Mary's Home for Boys, among others.[1] The World Forestry Center's Merlo Hall and The Harry A. Merlo
Award are both named in his honor.[2] He also had LP sponsor tennis events, including the Louisiana Pacific Coast Indoor.[5]
Later life
Following his departure from LP, he spent time running his winery in Sonoma County, California, along with his ranch in Eastern Oregon near La Grande.[4] In 2013, he led a failed effort to convert the Portland Water Bureau into an independent, but still public, entity.[6] Merlo died on October 24, 2016, at the age of 91.[4]
