Quick Facts
Biography
William U. Parfet is an American businessman. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of MPI Research, headquartered in Mattawan, Michigan, prior to retiring in January 2016.
Biography
Early life
He graduated from Lake Forest College with a major in Economics in 1970, two minors in China, and received an M.B.A. in International Finance from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 1972.
Career
From 1973 to 2003, he worked for Upjohn (now merged with Pfizer), including as vice chairman of the board. From 1993 to 1996, he served as president and CEO of Richard-Allan Medical Industries (now known as Thermo Fisher Scientific). He served on the board of trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and as National Chairman of the Financial Executives Institute, now known as Financial Executives International (FEI). He served on the board of directors of PAREXEL from June 2001 to May 2006, and CMS Energy from November 1991 to May 2005.
He joined MPI Research as co-chairman in November 1995 and served as chairman and chief executive officer from 1999 to 2016. He retired from MPI Research in January 2016. He sits on the board of directors of the Stryker Corporation since 1993, Monsanto since June 2000, and Taubman Centers.
On Wednesday August 31, 2016, William U. Parfet unceremoniously resigned from the Stryker Corp. board of directors and the company did not say why. On the same day William Parfet resigned from Monsanto Co.’s board of directors, according to a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Activist investors allege Taubman Centers owners violated the company's charter by decreasing the number of its directors to eight after a ninth director, William Parfet, who is facing a sex abuse lawsuit, resigned September 27, 2016.
William Parfet is chairman of Gov. Rick Snyder's Relentless Positive Action political action committee.
MPI Research issued this statement to the press:
“MPI Research is not a party to this litigation, and Mr. William Parfet, the defendant in the action, is neither employed by nor affiliated with, MPI Research. Therefore, we have no comment on the matter.”