He received six honorary doctorate degrees and sat on the boards of Fortune 500 corporations including Equitable Life and Dow Jones as well as Bendix and Morrison Knudsen.

Harold, the son of a Baptist minister, had varied careers: manufacturing executive, dairy farmer, and state legislator.

He enrolled in the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity,[4] unusual for a married man.

[11] In May 1972, Agee joined Bendix Corporation, an automobile industry related manufacturer located near Detroit, Michigan.

[8] Recruited for the post by CEO Michael Blumenthal, Agee became CFO and Executive Vice President,[10] and held a seat on the board of directors.

At age 38, he was elected president of the company in December 1976,[12] and was elevated to CEO a few weeks later when Blumenthal left Bendix to become the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in the new Carter Administration.

Agee was recognized in Time magazine[13] for his strategy of bold, selective acquisitions aimed at transforming Bendix from a slow-growth manufacturing company in a mature industry, into a diversified high-tech corporation.

This practice caused a flurry of media interest in 1980 when he promoted 28-year-old Mary Cunningham, who had been his executive assistant, to the position of vice president for corporate communications and then VP for Strategic Planning.

When Marietta enlisted the help of a third company, United Technologies, Agee sought a partner to fend off the threatened takeover of Bendix.

[19][20][21] From 1988 to 1995 Agee was Chairman, President and CEO of the construction company Morrison Knudsen Corporation (MK) in his hometown of Boise.

[24] At that time, a hostile takeover attempt by Chicago businessman Edward Heil and record losses threatened the company's existence.

[24] Agee employed a diversification strategy which changed the company from one which was primarily reliant on heavy construction to one which was involved in railroad remanufacturing, precious minerals, and the transit business.

MK had record profits between 1989 and 1991, much of which derived from operating revenue, accounting decisions and non-traditional sources of income such as investments.

[33] Agee served on the Board of Directors of Fortune 500 firms including Dow Jones (1978–1993), the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (1974–1977), Morrison Knudsen (1974–1977 and 1981–1985) Equitable Life (1976–1985), ASARCO (1979–1981), and General Foods (1979–1983).