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ALDEN P. YATES
1 928-1 989
BY WILLIAM W
. MOORE
ALDEN P. YATES, vice-chairman of the Bechtel Group, Inc.
and chairman of its executive committee, died on April 12,
1989, at the age of sixty at the Pacific Presbyterian Medical
Center in San Francisco after a valiant struggle against can-
cer. Alden's life and career were closely tied to the Bechte}
organization and to the engineering and construction in-
dustry. His father, Perry Yates, was a veteran of the Hoover
Dam project and was also an important member of the
Bechte] executive team. Alden spent his early years in the
construction environment of the Hoover Dam project where
his father was a construction engineer. Alden became excited
at an early age about "the wonderful tools we have to help
bring positive change to the worlds." His father later became
executive vice-president of Bechtel, and as his career pro-
gressed the family traveled to various construction projects.
Alden early had a summer job as a "junior expediter," which
he described as "riding a bike around the warehouse and
grabbing parts." This experience with engineering and
construction life provided "the perfect construction business
baptism."
Alden earned his B.S. in civil engineering from Stanford
in 1951 and was a member of Beta Theta Pi. Also while at
Stanford, he met and married his wife, Dawn, and made
many lifelong friends.
329
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330
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
After serving as a lieutenant "iG" in the U.S. Coast Guard,
Alden Yates began his thirty-five-year career with Bechtel in
1953. His first assignment was a field engineer at Pacific
Gas & Electric's Morro Bay steam power plant in California.
From that start he served in a broacI variety of projects in
the power, civil, and mining fields throughout the world,
steadily working his way up through the company. In 1970
he was elected a vice-president and thus became a partner
in the privately held Bechte] organization.
His responsibilities in the organization continued to increase
through the 1970s. In 1976 he became manager of a Petroleum
and Chemical Division based in Kuwait, and joined the board
of directors of Bechte! the following year. When based in
London in 1980, he was in charge of three Bechte] divisions
and was elected to the company's executive committee.
In November 1980 Alden Yates was elected president of
Houston-based Bechte} Petroleum, Inc. and was elected in
May 1983 to president and chief operating officer of its
parent company, Bechte! Group Inc., replacing George P.
Shultz. Mr. Yates and Mr. Shultz were the only two non-
Bechte] family members to hold the presidency of the par-
ent company.
Alden Yates became chairman of Bechtel's executive
committees in August 1984 and vice-chairman of Bechte]
Group Inc. in 1989.
Steve Bechtel, Jr. noted "we have lost a valued leader
and a special friend. Alden has personified this company's
idea of excellence, dedication, and teamwork. His contributions
to the Bechte] organization and to the engineering profes-
sion were significant and lasting." He also undertook per-
sonal efforts to "fee! the pulse of the organization and hear
what's on people's minds." When he heard too often that
people felt unappreciated, he wrote in Bechtel's management
notes that "in the pressure of these difficult times, most of
us can forget to tell others that they have done a good job
and are appreciated for their work. We should not take
anyone for granted." He also noted that "a bright and
prosperous course lies in our future if we choose to seek
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ALDEN P. YATES
33
it out." He added, "the members of the Bechte] Organiza-
tion are not only the key to winning today's jobs but they
are also the key to achieving the continuous improvement
that will ensure tomorrow's jobs."
Outside of his career with Bechtel, Alden Yates was a
major contributor to the engineering profession and to the
communities where he lived and worked. The interests
and welfare of the people working under his direction were
always an important factor in his decisions and actions.
Alden told the graduating seniors at Menio College, Palo
Alto, that they should travel and "get out and see for your-
seives who shares this planet with you, how they live, why
they think as they do. We are increasingly dependent on
each other throughout the world and the sooner we all
realize that fact the better we can solve the social, political,
and economic problems that surround us."
Alden Yates was elected to the National Academy of En-
gineering in 1986. He was also a member of the Conference
Board, the advisory council of Stanford University School
of Engineering; the California Business Roundtable; and
the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was a director
of SR] International; United Way of the Bay Area; the National
Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.; The San Fran-
cisco Opera Association; and the Bay Area Council. He
was a trustee of the Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center
and served as chairman of the San Francisco Bay Area Sci-
ence Advisory Board.
Alden enjoyed spending weekends with his family at their
ranch in Napa Valley of California where he played tennis
and took an active interest in wine making, fly fishing, and
golf.
He is survived by his wife of thirty-eight years, Dawn;
their six children, Steven, Michael, Jeffrey, Russell, Karen
Weiss, and Patricia Mitchell, all of California; and six
grandchildren.
A memorial service for Alden was held April IS, 1989, at
the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
dam project
