[1] Frederic G. Donner was born in Three Oaks Michigan, the son of an accountant, on October 4, 1902.

[2] He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in economics and worked briefly for a Chicago accounting firm.

He joined General Motors's New York staff as an accountant in 1926, and worked there for 32 years.

[3] Donner presided over a major reorganization of GM's board of directors to include more representation from outside the corporation.

He was at the helm when GM expanded its product line with 12 new passenger cars, including the Nova, Chevelle, Firebird, Century, Riviera, Camaro, Pontiac LeMans, Cutlass, and Eldorado.