Chairman of the Board Morley Companies, Inc. (Deceased) – Saginaw, Michigan
Lou Furlo began his career in his family’s retail hardware store in Saginaw, Michigan. At the age of 28, he left the family business to join Morley Brothers, also of Saginaw, which was, at the time, one of the largest wholesale hardware distributors in the nation. He began in sales and proceeded to hold positions in marketing and advertising. As a territory manager in marketing and sales, Lou recognized the potential of the incentive/motivation business as a natural, high- volume ouflet for Morley merchandise. Acknowledging Lou’s success with this endeavor, Morley formed the incentive Division in 1964. Lou was named vice president and general manager of the new group at the age of 36, and one year later was elected to the board of directors of Morley Brothers. in 1975, Lou became executive vice president, sales and marketing of the Morley Brothers Corporation and was elected president and chief executive officer in 1979. Mr. Furlo initiated the sale of the company in 1981, and the following year he and a group of investors repurchased the incentive Division of the company, renaming it Morley incentives, Inc. Lou became chairman and CEO. Several major corporations became clients of Morley incentives, including Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, GMC, Oldsmobile, Delphi Automotive Systems, NAPA, Ford, Bausch & Lomb, General Electric, Kellogg, Prudential, Andersen Consulting, Kodak, Paine Webber, Whirlpool, ITT, Visa, R.L. Polk, Upjohn and Dow Chemical. In 1991, the Furlo family became the sole owners of the company and, in 1993, the name of the firm was changed to Morley Companies, Incorporated, to more accurately reflect the expanding character of the organization. The company currently comprises five operating divisions: Morley Travel, Morley Incentives, Morley Productions, Morley Direct, and Morley Research. As of 1998, Morley Companies is owned by Mr. Furlo’s three sons. Lou remains chairman of the board.
