William Charles Schultz was the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and is credited as the "man who saved Fender."

Biography

Schultz graduated as an engineer from the New Jersey Institute of Technology

New Jersey Institute of Technology

New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....

 in 1965 and went to work for Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...

, Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. While working at Bendix Aerospace on radar tracking devices for the Apollo Space project, he got a Master's in aerospace engineering. In 1971 he received an MBA from Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 and got a job at CBS

Westinghouse Electric (1886)

Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...

.

Schultz worked for Yamaha Corporation when he was asked to become the company president of Fender in 1981 by associate Bill Mendello. When CBS decided to sell the struggling company in 1985, Schultz and several other employees purchased it. Schultz was among the management team who recommended CBS to start an alternate production of Japanese Fenders in 1982, as the company's sales suffered from the onslaught of copies produced by Japanese manufacturers such as Tokai

Tokai

Tōkai in Japanese may refer to:* Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu* Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also nown as "Tokaimura" * Tōkai, Aichi, a city* Tōkai University, a private university in Tokyo...

 and Fernandes Guitars

Fernandes Guitars

Fernandes Guitars is a guitar and accessory manufacturer that originated in Japan in 1969, building flamenco guitars. As the company grew it expanded production to include more acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, and accessories to become one of the biggest guitar...

.

Schulz (and through him, Fender) became a major donor to Duquesne University

Duquesne University

Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...

, which honored him in 2001 with a Lifetime Achievement Award and a week of concerts. He retired in 2005 and was replaced by Mendello, though he remained on the board of directors. Schultz died in 2006 of cancer.