Packard's image was increasingly seen as dowdy and old-fashioned, unappealing to younger customers. Surveys found that nearly 75% of Packard customers were repeats who had owned previous Packards and few new buyers were being attracted to the make. Compounding this problem was the company's geriatric leadership. The Packard board of directors by the early 1950s had an average age of 67 and younger executives with a fresher approach to running the company were badly needed—in 1948, Alvin Macauley, born during the Grant Administration, had stepped down as chairman. Hugh Ferry therefore decided that there was no choice but to hire an outsider to take over as president. To that end, he recruited James Nance from appliance manufacturer Hotpoint. At 52, Nance was more than a decade younger than the youngest Packard executive.