Louis A. (Lou) Pritchett was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 5, 1931, to Thelma Gertrude Tipton Pritchett & Joseph Zeniford Pritchett.
He was the beloved husband of Barbara Burnette Pritchett and loving father of Bradley Louis Pritchett and Robert Joseph Pritchett as well as devoted grandfather of Katrina Pritchett, Alexander Pritchett and Adam Pritchett.
An avid volunteer throughout his life, he attended South Side High School in Memphis where he was a cheer leader and ROTC Captain. He joined Boy Scout Troop 97 in 1943, earning the Eagle Scout rank in 1947and the Distinguished Eagle Award in 1994. He also attended Volunteer Boys State in 1947 at Castle Heights Military school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lou graduated from Memphis State College (now U. of Memphis) in 1953, receiving his BS degree. He had been a cheerleader, Mr. Memphis State, and President of the Senior Class.
Upon graduation, he joined The Procter & Gamble Company, as a salesman in Tupelo, Mississippi. He and Barbara Jean Burnette of Lula, Mississippi, were married in 1954 and remained married for 70 years until his death.
Lou entered the U.S. Army in 1957 and was awarded the “Soldier of the Cycle Award”.
Returning from the Army, Lou rejoined P&G and was transferred to Columbus, Ohio in 1959. Rising through the ranks he was promoted to President & General Manager, Philippine Manufacturing Company (P&G) in 1981, headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
When he returned from Manila in 1985, he was promoted to Corporate VP-Sales in Cincinnati and then Corporate VP-Sales, Western Hemisphere, Asia, & Customer Development U.S.
In 1987, Lou co-engineered with Sam Walton the “Partnership” between P&G and Wal-Mart" (see Harvard Business School case study 9-907-011, Lou Pritchett: Negotiating the P&G Relationship with Wal-Mart).
He retired from P&G in June 1989, where he co-founded PREL (Pacific Resources Export Ltd), the global buying arm of Wal-Mart in 1990. Subsequently he created “Pritchett Enterprises” a public speaking organization. In 1990, he wrote the first of three books, “Stop Paddling & Start Rocking the Boat,” published by Harper Collins. These were followed by “What the Internet Can’t Teach You” and “Still Rocking the Boat”.
Lou passed away on Friday, September 13, 2024, at the age of 92 after a brief illness.
