Dick Haworth is a former board member, and former chairman, of the Board of Directors of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Haworth began his career in the contract furniture industry in 1964, when he joined his family’s business (then Modern Products, Inc.) as assistant sales manager after receiving a bachelor’s degree in business from Western Michigan University. He held various positions in the company until he was named executive vice president in 1969. The company name was changed to Haworth, Inc. in 1975, and in 1976, Haworth became the company's president and chief executive officer. As president, Haworth participated in the development and introduction of the industry's first electrified, panel-based systems office furniture, ERA 1R. He holds 14 patents.
Haworth served as chairman of the board from 1994 to 2009, when he passed the torch to his son, Matthew Haworth. He led the organization from a single product line with sales of $10 million and 225 employees to build a broad based, multi product line company with sales of $1.5 billion and 8,000 members worldwide in 2007. He is a native of Holland, Michigan, where he is a member of the Michigan Business Roundtable, and is closely involved in various local community initiatives.
