Former Porsche exec dies in Naples

The Revs Institute in Naples has lost a friend.

Like car enthusiasts everywhere, Miles Collier, the institute's president, is mourning the loss of Peter Schutz — savior of the Porsche 911.

Shutz died in Naples on Oct. 29. He was 87.

His wife, Sheila Harris-Schutz, said he died in hospice from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

Over the years, Schutz was a friend to both the institute and its Collier Collection of rare mint-condition automobiles. He attended events at the museum and once spoke to its docents at one of their meetings.

“Peter Schutz was hired to resurrect a troubled Porsche's future. Central to that strategy was his decision to restore the 911, then under a death sentence, as Porsche's premier model," Collier said.

Schutz, a former president and CEO of Porsche, is probably best known for blocking plans to end the production of the 911 in 1981. The German sports car maker's board had already voted to kill the model, which had faced quality problems, but he changed its mind, arguing the 911 was the company's heart and soul.

Under Schutz's leadership, Porsche expanded its 911 line, which included introducing a convertible model in 1982. 

"Today the 911 is unique as the only car in history to stand for 60 years at the cutting edge of performance, quality, prestige and technology," Collier said. "Peter saw the 911 for what it was, arguably the greatest sports car in history. Half a million Porsche enthusiasts owe him a debt of gratitude." 

Other offerings were added during Schutz's tenure, including the Porsche 959, dubbed the “Über-911" by the press. 

He is also known for bringing back Porsche's racing program and setting new records.

Schutz joined the company after its first money-losing year. He grew Porsche's worldwide sales from 28,000 units in 1980-81 to 53,000 units in 1986 and more than tripled the company's revenue.

However, the second half of the 1980s didn't go as well. With declining export revenues and a drop in U.S. sales, Schutz left Porsche in 1987.

Schutz "retired" to Naples with his wife in 1988.

Leaving Germany was bittersweet, as it meant the end of a dream but the opportunity to move back to America to be closer to family again, she said.

"Honestly, it felt like Cinderella, the experience that we had in his capacity at Porsche was just a dream," Harris-Schutz said. "It was a dream that I never thought to dream. We interacted with everything from royalty to the average workers on the street."

While living in Germany, she said she met Naples residents and decided to invest in real estate here, buying two houses to remodel and resell for a profit. But after moving to Santa Monica, California, the couple became "allergic" to the superficiality of the Hollywood lifestyle and decided to move into one of the homes here instead.

"Naples at the time was still pretty much a sleepy little town," Harris-Schutz said.

In 1991, Schutz started a consulting firm with his wife to "facilitate the exchange of knowledge" between himself and "business people all over the world." His background in engineering — along with his experience in marketing and management — made him a sought-after speaker.

Until his formal retirement in 2012, Schutz traveled the world for more than two decades mentoring business leaders and lecturing on leadership and motivation. He wrote the book "The Driving Force, Getting Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People," which can be found on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

"Peter was a natural born teacher, and he loved when he could think he was making a difference in the world," Harris-Schutz said. 

Born in Berlin in 1930, Peter Werner Schutz, was the son of a seamstress and a pediatrician. He moved to Chicago when he was 11 after his Jewish family fled Germany because of World War II.

A veteran of the Marines and Army, Peter Schutz graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology and worked as an engineer for Caterpillar Tractor and then Cummins Engine Co. in Columbus, Indiana, as vice president of sales and service for truck engines in the U.S. and Canada. 

At Cummins, he met Sheila Harris, where she was a marketing training manager. 

"One thing led to another, and next thing you know we're riding off to the sunset in Germany," she said. 

In 1978 a corporate recruiter lured him to Cologne, Germany, where he moved to head up the Deutz Engine division of Kloeckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG.

When he joined Porsche a few years later, Schutz became the first American to serve as CEO. Despite the ownership's ties to the Nazi regime, Harris-Schutz said her husband never held a grudge toward them or Germans in general.

He saw his return to Germany as more poetic than anything, she said, going back to a country he was forced to flee and then landing a job at one of its most prominent companies.

"It's something he wishes his dad could have seen," she said. 

Schutz's hobbies included rebuilding a 1947 Chevy truck into a street rod and flying his airplane, when he was still able to do it.

"Peter probably loved flying more than he loved driving cars," Harris-Schutz said. 

He recently gave one of his most prized possessions to his children, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle convertible.

"I was so happy he was alive to do that. It lives in Indianapolis,, and they can all bring it out and drive it and remember their dad," Harris-Schutz said. "So it's something that's pretty special to them."  

Besides his wife, Schutz is survived by his brother Rudolph of New York; daughter Lori Schutz, of Michigan; son Michael and his wife, Debbie Schutz, and their two sons in Indianapolis; and son Mitchel and his wife, Candy Schutz, and her daughter and his son, also of Indianapolis. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Peter W. Schutz Family Endowment Fund in care of YMCA Storer Camp, 1500 N. Superior St., Toledo, Ohio, 43604. The fund provides free camp to underprivileged kids.