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Walter Paepcke (June 29, 1896 – April 13, 1960) was an American businessman and philanthropist who was prominent in the mid-20th century. A longtime executive of the Chicago-based Container Corporation of America, Paepcke is best noted for his founding of the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Skiing Company in the early 1950s, both of which helped transform the town of Aspen, Colorado, into an international resort destination and popularize the sport of skiing in the United States.
After acquiring several other manufacturing and box companies, Paepcke formed the Container Corporation of America in 1926. The company was highly successful and made boxes for Procter & Gamble, Sears Roebuck, and General Electric, among others. CCA emphasized quality products and artistry, making their boxes stand out.
Paepcke's wife, Elizabeth Paepcke, was the sister of American diplomatic figure Paul Nitze.
Paepcke hired Bauhaus designer Herbert Bayer and brought him to Aspen to promote the project through poster design and other design work; Paepcke was also the patron of fellow Bauhaus figure László Moholy-Nagy by financing the rebirth of the American New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1939. The New Bauhaus also had links to the Armour Institute of Technology.
Speakers at the conference included business leaders Stanley Marcus, Andrew McNally III, Harley Earl, and Hans Knoll; and from the design and architecture side, Josef Albers, Louis Kahn, Charles Eames, George Nelson, Eliot Noyes, Leo Lionni, Ben Shahn, Achille Castiglioni, Lella Vignelli and Massimo Vignelli, Herbert Bayer, as well as the architect and architecture critic Peter Blake. The annual conference format included keynote speakers, workshops, panel discussions and informal, social gatherings. These activities naturally integrated those from commerce and culture into settings that stimulated dialogue, debate and insights. The existence of IDCA established a key collaborative forum on the topic on managing design within corporations for the benefit of society, as well as adding value to business. IDCA was held every June in Aspen from 1951 to 2004.
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