November 9, 2023

When Gerald Greenwald served as a car manufacturer executive in the 1980s, controversy raged over the installation of air bags in automobiles. Air bags were available as an option and laws requiring either air bags or automatic seat belts were in the works, but auto executives, including Chrysler Corporation’s CEO Lee Iacocca, resisted. Greenwald, who was Chrysler’s vice chairman, met with Iacocca and, based upon evidence that air bags saved lives, helped convince him to make air bags a standard feature in all Chrysler cars in the U.S., beginning in 1989. It was a precedent-setting move that helped pave the way for the inclusion of air bags in all new vehicles.

The decision received validation in 1990, when a story appeared in The Washington Post detailing the head-on collision of two air bag–equipped 1990 Chrysler LeBarons on a Virginia highway. Fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene expecting to remove dead bodies. Instead, the drivers were standing at the side of the road, bruised but otherwise unhurt, which helped convince other automakers to either get on board or face a competitive disadvantage.

“For years, car companies used emotional arguments to avoid or deflect from having the government involved in auto safety regulations,” said Greenwald. “There was no objectivity. But once the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating and evaluating auto deaths, data became available to make evidence-based decisions that saved lives.”

When it comes to gun violence, Greenwald likewise believes that amassing data and evidence will help save lives. This year, The Greenwald Family Impact Foundation is donating $1 million to establish the Greenwald Family Gun Policy Chair at RAND. This gift will expand upon research conducted by RAND’s Gun Policy in America initiative, which launched in 2016.

“We are grateful to The Greenwald Family Impact Foundation for establishing this chair to strengthen RAND’s research in this critical area,” said Jason Matheny, RAND’s president and CEO. “This gift will advance the goal of establishing a shared set of facts that will improve public discussions and support the development of fair and effective gun policies.”

Greenwald has held numerous executive roles in the auto, airline, and investment worlds. In addition to his role at Chrysler, he served as an executive for the Ford Motor Company, chairman and CEO of United Airlines, and, most recently, cofounder and managing partner of the Greenbriar Equity Group. He and his wife, Glenda, lead The Greenwald Family Impact Foundation, founded in 1985 to tackle tough social and environmental problems with the mission of empowering people and driving community change worldwide.

“We chose RAND,” Greenwald said, “because its mission—to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis—aligns with our foundation’s focus on making improvements today that benefit future generations.”