Names of Cast Reflect Evolving Newhall Look

Newhall Land & Farming Co. was founded in 1883 by the five sons of Henry Mayo Newhall with the 143,000 California acres--220 square miles--he left them in his will. Since then, the ownership and management of the company has grown considerably more diverse.

For instance, the members of an Iraqi Jewish banking family, the Zilkhas, have come to own a major interest in Newhall Land & Farming. Nevertheless, the Newhall family retains a controlling interest of 40% and was responsible for hiring the executives who run the company.

Here are the firm’s key players:

James F. Dickason, 63, who joined the company in 1951, fresh out of Stanford’s MBA program, and has been chairman since 1979. A Harvard graduate and Stanford trustee, the company’s chief executive is scholarly and well-liked by the Newhalls. The portly Dickason also is well-connected, serving on a variety of corporate and civic boards. The firm has a mandatory retirement age of 65 and, accordingly, Dickason will step down July 1, 1987.

Thomas L. Lee, the company’s 43-year-old president and Dickason’s designated successor as chairman. Lee grew up in Detroit, but stayed in California after studying business at Stanford, where he was recruited by Newhall Land & Farming. Slender, studious and low-key, Lee has been with the company 16 years.

Peter McBean, 75, who serves on the board and heads various Newhall family trusts that hold a 6.7% stake in the firm. A patrician San Franciscan, McBean had virtually all of his wealth tied up in the company before selling some partnership units in early March.

Scott Newhall, 72, also on the Newhall Land & Farming board. A lifelong journalist, he was executive editor of the San Francisco Chronicle for 20 years and now is editor of the Newhall Signal. He once was deeply involved in the company and says that he was responsible for hiring Dickason. He says his stake is 1% to 2% of the firm.

Jane Newhall, 72, a San Francisco philanthropist who opposed the company’s conversion into a partnership last year. A cousin of Scott Newhall, she is a board member and owns a 2.7% stake.

Ezra and Selim Zilkha, the biggest shareholders outside the Newhall family. Ezra Zilkha, 61, is a Newhall Land & Farm director and an investor based in New York. His brother, Selim, also is an investor and is based in Los Angeles. The Zilkha family’s stake is 6.6%.