a vice-president of the company. In 1924, he left Montgomery Ward to take a position of vice-president of Sears Roebuck. He became one of the most important leaders in that company's history, serving as president from 1928 until 1939 and as chairman from 1939 until 1954. Under his leadership, Sears shifted the focus of its operations from mail-order sales to retail sales at large urban department stores. Wood also created Allstate Insurance as a subsidiary of Sears. In 1950, he was admitted as an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati. Wood, once again, served as an honorary chairman for Sears from 1968 until shortly before his death in 1969, leaving a good portion of his investments to family. Political life Wood was also politically active and was noted as a conservative Republican. In 1940, he helped found the America First Committee to oppose U.S. involvement in the Second World War; he served as the committee's first president on an interim basis. In 1954, Wood funded the creation of the Manion Forum, a conservative radio program hosted by Clarence Manion. Personal life Robert Wood married Mary Butler Hardwick of Augusta, Georgia on April 30, 1908. They were the parents of five children: four daughters and a son. A great grandson, Keene Addington, is a Chicago restaurateur who currently runs the Tortoise Supper Club. Decorations and honors Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army), United States Knight of the Legion of Honor, France Honorary CMG (UK) Bronze busts honoring Wood and seven other industry magnates stand between the Chicago River and the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Formerly, General Wood had a Boys and Girls Club in Chicago named after him. Wood was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1979. References Further reading Chang, Myong-Hun, and Joseph E. Harrington Jr. "Organizational structure and firm innovation in a retail chain." Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory 3.4 (1998): 267-288. compares Wood with Montgomery Ward's Sewell Avery online Doenecke, Justus D. "General Robert E. Wood: The Evolution of a Conservative." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984) 71.3 (1978): 162-175. in JSTOR Emmet, Boris, and John E. Jeuck. Catalogues and Counters: A History of Sears, Roebuck and Company (U of Chicago Press, 1950) Worthy, James C. Shaping an American institution: Robert E. Wood and Sears, Roebuck (1986). External links Robert E. Wood bio at SearsArchives.com Robert