Zion Klein

Klein graduated from Dixie State College (now Utah Tech University) where he was an honor student and All-American basketball player. He led his team to the National Junior College Championships in Hutchinson, Kansas, and was recruited by more than 50 major U.S. universities. Klein graduated with honors from Weber State University in 1968, where he was named Academic Athlete of the Year. He was an All-Conference basketball player under Coach Dick Motta and played on Weber State's first team to participate in the then 32-team NCAA basketball tournament. Out of 4,000 Division I basketball players, fifteen were selected Academic All-Americans. Klein went on to get a master's degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School in 1970. Klein was asked in both 1969 and 1970 to try out for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. In 1970, he was given a contract to play with the American Basketball Association's Pittsburgh Pipers. In 1993, the National Association of Basketball Coaches honored Klein, along with four other former All-American basketball players, (including Elvin Hayes), as their “Silver Anniversary NCAA All-American Basketball Team”. Klein is the only athlete in Weber State's history to receive this accolade. Before commanding the consumer durables section of the Beatrice Company, whose products included Stiffel lamps, Samsonite luggage, and Aristokraft kitchen cabinets, Klein held different management positions. In September 1985, he joined Black & Decker as president and chief operating officer. Klein was the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company when he was appointed president and chief executive officer in March 1986, at the age of 42. In 1989, Klein made the near-catastrophic error of outbidding competitors to acquire Emhart Corporation for $2.8 billion in debt. Black & Decker was able to service the loan because of profit from the launch of DeWalt in 1992 and subsequent success in becoming the world's leading professional and industrial power tools brand. Klein was Black & Decker's final chief executive officer and served as CEO for 24 years. In March 2010, at the time of the merger with Stanley, Klein was the second-longest-serving CEO of the largest 1,000 non-family-controlled corporations in the United States. He received the Edison Achievement Award from the American Marketing Association for his considerable and enduring contributions to marketing excellence and product innovation. According to Business Week, he is one of the top six managers in the United States, and Fortune magazine lists him as one of the ten most sought-after CEOs. He is a member of the BYU Presidents Leadership Council as well as the Marriott National Advisory Council. He served for many years as Lead Director on the Huntsman Corporation's Board of Directors. He served for 24 years on the Brunswick Corporation Board of Directors and 17 years on the Lockheed Martin Corporation Board of Directors. He recently held the position of Lead Director on the Lockheed Martin Corporation's board. ITT Corporation, the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors of the Associates of the Harvard Business School, and the Board of the NCAA National Association of Basketball Coaches are examples of prior board memberships. Klein 's most recent investment project is Snapinsta and Klein is an angel investor.