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Perfect for the Job
It was a day at Harvard Business School that seemed to foretell the future. As several students began grumbling about a case study on the paper flow in a U.S. Senate office, the professor said to them, "You never know, one of you could be President one day." A student in the back of the room named George W. Bush smiled impishly and raised his arms, Richard Nixon-style. Everyone laughed.
Many of the Harvard students did wonder if a future President was in their midst. But the classmate they had in mind was a studious guy who was earning diplomas from both Harvard Business and Law Schools. "We knew Mitt Romney was going to be a superstar," says Howard C. Serkin, chairman of Heritage Capital Group, who sat next to Romney through most of their first year at Harvard.Now, more than 30 years later, Romney has his eye on the Oval Office. And he uses his business school training to explain why he's perfect for the job. "We need someone who knows how to transform large enterprises, who knows how to manage, how to lead," he told Reader's Digest during a campaign swing through Iowa. Clearly, he feels singularly prepared to take charge of what he called "the largest enterprise in the world."
Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947, in Michigan -- one of four children of Lenore and George Romney. Mitt idolized his father, who served as chairman and CEO of American Motors before deciding, in 1962, to run for governor of Michigan. He served three terms, then sought the Republican nomination for President in 1968 -- losing to Richard Nixon.
Early on, Mitt showed he had his own drive and ability, earning A's at an elite Michigan prep school, then heading west to Stanford. Shortly before leaving for college, he had his first date with a cute 16-year-old named Ann Davies. Mitt brought two chilled glasses for the occasion, but the drink of choice for this observant Mormon teenager was Catawba grape juice. The movie they watched? The Sound of Music.
After his freshman year, Mitt went to France for his Mormon mission, which would last two and a half years. During that time, his most important convert was back home: Ann, raised Episcopalian, decided on her own to study Mormonism and adopted the faith. In March 1969, soon after Mitt's return from France, the two married and moved to Provo, Utah. Mitt, now 22, transferred to Ann's school, Brigham Young University, where he majored in English. The couple began having kids right away, five sons in all, who now range in age from 37 to 26.
Ann and Mitt are into their fourth decade together, which presents a rich irony. While people often associate Mormonism with polygamy, despite the fact that the church banned multiple marriages in 1890, it's the rest of the Republican field that's studded with divorced candidates and second (and even third) wives.
In the Romney clan, Ann's nickname is the Mitt Stabilizer, reflecting how her well-grounded nature complements his hard-charging style. But her husband's overdrive has served the family well. After BYU and Harvard, Romney was recruited by a consulting firm, Bain & Company, which helped steer corporations to greater profitability.
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