Andre B. Lacy

(Sept. 12, 1939-Nov. 30, 2017). The son of Howard John Lacy II and Edna Balz Lacy, Andre B. Lacy was born in Indianapolis. His grandfather, Howard J. Lacy Sr., founded the U.S. Corrugated-Fibre Box Company in 1912 when new transportation regulations allowed for corrugated boxes to replace wooden crates. His father became head of the company in 1952.

Lacy began his career at U.S. Corrugated when he was nine years old, working in the company’s mailroom during summer breaks from school. Lacy’s mother became president, chairperson of the board, and company treasurer after her husband died In 1959.

Lacy graduated from Shortridge High School in 1957. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1961. He met Julia Lello, of Wheaton, Illinois, while at Denison. The couple married shortly after they graduated. They had three sons and were together for 53 years.

Lacy returned to Indianapolis and joined U.S. Corrugated as an analyst. He advanced through the corporate ranks as a sales representative, then plant manager, before becoming executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) in 1968.

With his mother, Lacy diversified the business, making add-on acquisitions. It became a national leader in corrugated box production. The company “made a profitable venture of selling cardboard to contain every conceivable product.” U.S. Corrugated changed its name to Lacy Diversified Industries (LDI), in 1972, to reflect an expansion of its strategies. With the name change, Lacy became executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO). He was elected CEO of LDI in 1983. As CEO, he restructured the business, closing unprofitable facilities and upgrading others with industry-leading technology.

Lacy began acquiring industries that would add value to the corrugated box product company. With U.S. Corrugated, Lacy developed his “build-and-hold” strategy for acquisitions in which he acquired, built, and then spun off subsidiaries when the industry in which they operated had reached capacity. But in 1984 he decided to sell it to Boise Cascade Wood Products, in Idaho, thereby ending his family’s 72-year ownership of the box company. With the sale, Lacy Diversified Industries became LDI Ltd., LLC—a private holding company. Following the divestment of U.S. Corrugated, Lacy continued to identify businesses for acquisition in which he believed LDI could become a major player.

Following the death of his mother on December 30, 1991, Lacy became chairman of the board as well as CEO. Lacy transformed LDI into one of the top 10 privately held firms in Indiana before retiring in 2007. Under his direction, many of its business units became national or global leaders within their industries. Lacy’s eldest son, John Andre (J. A.), took over control of the firm as CEO. The company has continued to follow Lacy’s business strategies.

Dissatisfied with the quality of high school graduates entering their businesses, Lacy and Thomas W. Binford, another Indianapolis businessman and civic leader, formed Community Leaders Allied For Superior Schools, in 1989, to work for educational improvement in the Indianapolis Public Schools. Lacy also belonged to the board of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and served as chairman in 2008. As a member of the Indiana State Fair Commission, Lacy led efforts to restore its Coliseum. In 2016, he and his wife made a transformative gift to Butler University for its School of Business, to support its focus on family-owned businesses and entrepreneurship. The school was renamed the Andre B. Lacy School of Business in his honor.

Lacy also served on the boards of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, United Way Of Central Indiana, the Nature Conservancy of Indiana, Herff Jones, Inc., the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and the National Bank of Indianapolis. Former Indiana governors Mitch Daniels, Robert Orr, and Roger Branigin each recognized Lacy as a Sagamore of the Wabash. Lacy received the Charles L. Whistler award from Mayor Joe Hogsett in 2016.