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Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century

 
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173 Results
Leonard Abramson
US Healthcare, 1975–1996
Howard F. Ahmanson
H. F. Ahmanson & Company, 1927–1968
Henry C. Alexander
Morgan Guaranty Trust, 1959–1967
Ohio C. Barber
Diamond Match Company, 1888–1909
Garner A. Beckett
American Cement Corporation, 1936–1957
Edward T. Bedford
Corn Products Refining Company, 1906–1930
Olive Ann M. Beech
Beech Aircraft Corporation, 1950–1968
James S. Bell
Washburn, Crosby Milling Company, 1889–1915
Charles G. Bluhdorn
Gulf and Western, 1958–1983
W. Michael Blumenthal
Bendix Corporation, 1967–1976
William E. Boeing
Boeing Company, 1916–1934
Lawrence A. Bossidy
AlliedSignal, Inc., 1991–1999
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett Company, 1935–1971
Thomas J. Burrell
Burrell Advertising, 1971–2003
D. Wayne Calloway
PepsiCo, 1986–1996
Curtis L. Carlson
Gold Bond Stamp Company / Carlson Companies, 1938–1998
Robert A. Chesebrough
Chesebrough Manufacturing Company, 1875–1909
Catherine T. Clark
Brownberry Ovens, 1946–1972
William E. Corey
United States Steel Corporation, 1903–1911
Henry P. Crowell
Quaker Oats Company, 1901–1922
Nathan Cummings
Consolidated Foods, 1939–1975
Harlow H. Curtice
General Motors Corporation, 1953–1958
C. Donald Dallas
Revere Copper and Brass, 1931–1947
William H. Danforth
Ralston Purina Company, 1894–1932
Charles S. Davis
Borg-Warner Corporation, 1928–1950
James E. Davis
Winn-Dixie Stores, 1946–1983
Morse G. Dial
Union Carbide Corporation, 1952–1963
Ronald W. Dollens
Guidant Corporation, 1994–2004
Arthur C. Dorrance
Campbell Soup Company, 1930–1946
John T. Dorrance
Campbell Soup Company, 1914–1930
Frank N. Doubleday
Doubleday and Company, 1897–1927
James B. Duke
American Tobacco Company, 1890–1912
Jack M. Eckerd
Eckerd Corporation, 1952–1974
Louis K. Eilers
Eastman Kodak Company, 1967–1972
James A. Farrell
United States Steel Corporation, 1911–1932
Paul Fireman
Reebok International, 1979–2006
Frederick J. Fisher
Fisher Body Company, 1908–1926
Donald G. Fisher
Gap, 1969–1995
Paul V. Galvin
Motorola, 1928–1956
Walter S. Gifford
American Telephone and Telegraph, 1925–1948
King C. Gillette
Gillette Company, 1901–1913
David D. Glass
Wal-Mart Corporation, 1988–2000
Leonard H. Goldenson
American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters, 1949–1986
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn Productions, 1916–1959
James H. Goodnight
SAS Institute, 1976–Present
Albert H. Gordon
Kidder, Peabody Group, 1931–1968
Eugene G. Grace
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, 1916–1957
William T. Grant
W. T. Grant Company, 1906–1924
Robert E. Gross
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, 1934–1956
Andrew S. Grove
Intel, 1987–1998
C. Michael Harper
ConAgra, 1975–1993
George H. Hartford
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, 1878–1915
Charles A. Heimbold, Jr.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, 1994–2001
Henry J. Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company, 1905–1919
Henry F. Henderson, Jr.
Henderson (H. F.) Industries, 1952–Present
Leon Hess
Amerada Hess, 1933–1995
Conrad N. Hilton
Hilton Hotels Corporation, 1946–1966
Paul G. Hoffman
Studebaker Corporation, 1935–1948
Eugene Holman
Exxon Corporation, 1944–1960
Elon H. Hooker
Hooker Chemical Company, 1909–1938
H. Wayne Huizenga
Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, 1986–1994
Lido (Lee) A. Iacocca
Chrysler Corporation, 1979–1993
Irwin M. Jacobs
Qualcomm, 1985–Present
Eldridge R. Johnson
Victor Talking Machine Company, 1901–1927
Howard D. Johnson
Howard Johnson's, 1925–1964
Edward C. Johnson II
Fidelity Investments, 1946–1972
John E. Jonsson
Texas Instruments, 1951–1958
Will K. Kellogg
Kellogg Company, 1906–1939
John A. Kimberly
Kimberly-Clark Corporation, 1880–1928
Anne Klein
Anne Klein & Company, 1968–1974
Richard J. Kogan
Schering-Plough Corporation, 1996–2003
Samuel H. Kress
S. H. Kress Company, 1896–1924
Bernard H. Kroger
Kroger's Food Stores, 1883–1928
Harvey H. Lamm
Subaru of America, 1971–1990
Edwin H. Land
Polaroid Corporation, 1937–1980
Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder, 1946–1982
Ralph Lauren
Polo, Ralph Lauren, 1968–Present
Charles Lazarus
Toys "R" Us, 1948–1994
Lewis W. Lehr
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1980–1986
Carl H. Lindner, Jr.
American Financial Group, 1958–Present
J. Bruce Llewellyn
Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, 1985–Present
Joseph M. Long
Long's Drug Stores, 1947–1977
Francisco A. Lorenzo
Texas Air Corporation, 1972–1990
George W. Lucas
Lucasfilm, Limited, 1971–Present
Daniel K. Ludwig
National Bulk Carriers, 1936–1987
Ray W. MacDonald
Burroughs Corporation, 1967–1978
Kenneth A. Macke
Dayton Hudson Corporation, 1983–1994
Morton L. Mandel
Premier Industrial Corporation, 1958–1996
Alfred E. Mann
Pacesetter, 1972–1985
Alex Manoogian
Masco Corporation, 1929–1985
Bernard Marcus
Home Depot, 1978–1997
Glenn L. Martin
Glenn L. Martin Company, 1907–1949
Joseph A. Martino
National Lead Company (NL Industries), 1947–1969
Hamish Maxwell
Philip Morris Companies, 1984–1991
Louis B. Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation, 1924–1951
Howard H. McClintic
McClintic and Marshall Construction Company, 1900–1931
Mark H. McCormack
International Management Group, 1960–2003
James S. McDonnell
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, 1939–1967
Dean A. McGee
Kerr-McGee Corporation, 1954–1983
Thomas H. McInnerney
National Dairy Products Corporation, 1923–1941
Andre Meyer
Lazard, Freres and Company, 1943–1979
Morton H. Meyerson
Electronic Data Systems, 1979–1985
Charles E. Mitchell
National City Bank, 1921–1929
Robert G. Mondavi
Robert Mondavi Winery, 1966–1990
Charles W. Moritz
Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, 1985–1993
Conde M. Nast
Conde Nast Publications, 1907–1942
Edward J. Noble
Life Savers, 1913–1938
Adolph S. Ochs
New York Times, 1896–1935
Michael Ovitz
Creative Artists Agency, 1974–1995
William S. Paley
Columbia Broadcasting System, 1928–1983
William G. Park
Crucible Steel Company, 1900–1909
H. Ross Perot
Electronic Data Systems, 1962–1979
Milton J. Petrie
Petrie Stores, 1932–1993
Thomas B. Pickens
Mesa Petroleum Company, 1964–1996
Elmer F. Pierson
The Vendo Company, 1937–1974
Abe Plough
Plough, 1908–1971
Charles W. Post
Postum Cereal Company, Limited, 1896–1914
John F. Queeny
Monsanto Chemical Company, 1901–1928
Simon Ramo
Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, 1953–1958
Stanley B. Resor
J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency, 1916–1955
Richard J. Reynolds
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, 1911–1918
Richard S. Reynolds
Reynolds Corporation, 1912–1948
Earl H. Richardson
Hotpoint Electric Heating Company, 1904–1918
Edward V. Rickenbacker
Eastern Airlines, 1938–1953
Charles Ringling
Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus, 1907–1926
John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Standard Oil of New Jersey, 1863–1912
Willard F. Rockwell
Rockwell International, 1933–1967
Julius Rosenwald
Sears, Roebuck & Company, 1910–1925
James W. Rouse
Rouse Company, 1939–1979
William J. Ruane
Sequoia Fund, 1970–2005
Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein, 1915–1965
John D. Ryan
Anaconda Copper Company, 1907–1917
David Sarnoff
Radio Corporation of America, 1930–1966
Leonard D. Schaeffer
Wellpoint Health Networks, 1992–2004
Barry Schwartz
Calvin Klein, 1968–Present
Richard W. Sears
Sears, Roebuck & Company, 1893–1908
Frank A. Seiberling
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, 1906–1921
Leonard S. Shoen
U-Haul Rental System, 1945–1986
Herbert J. Siegel
Chris-Craft Industries, 1968–Present
Norton W. Simon
Hunt Foods & Industries, 1942–1968
Harry F. Sinclair
Sinclair Oil and Refining Company, 1916–1948
Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.
General Motors Corporation, 1923–1937
Hurlburt W. Smith
Smith-Corona (L. C.) Typewriter Company, 1924–1933
Wilbert L. Smith
Smith-Corona (L. C.) Typewriter Company, 1910–1924
Charles C. Spaulding
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1923–1952
Elmer A. Sperry
Sperry Gyroscope Company, 1910–1929
Thomas G. Stemberg
Staples, 1986–2002
Ross S. Sterling
Humble Oil and Refining Company, 1911–1919
David J. Stern
National Basketball Association, 1984–Present
Edward R. Stettinius
Diamond Match Company, 1909–1915
Lyman Stewart
Union Oil Company, 1894–1914
James Stillman
National City Bank, 1891–1909
Gerard Swope
General Electric Company, 1922–1939
Laurence A. Tisch
Loew's, 1961–1999
John T. Underwood
Underwood Typewriter Company, 1903–1927
P. Roy Vagelos
Merck & Company, 1985–1994
Jay Van Andel
Amway Corporation, 1959–1992
Frank A. Vanderlip
National City Bank, 1909–1919
Samuel M. Walton
Wal-Mart Corporation, 1962–1988
John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker and Company, 1875–1922
Harry M. Warner
Warner Brothers Pictures, 1923–1958
Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
IBM, 1914–1955
Sanford I. Weill
Travelers Group/CitiGroup, 1986–2003
Sigfried Weis
Weis Markets, 1961–1994
Jann S. Wenner
Rolling Stone Magazine, 1967–Present
George Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric Company, 1885–1911
Leslie Wexner
Limited (The), Inc., 1963–Present
Joseph D. Williams
Warner-Lambert Corporation, 1985–1991
Sidney W. Winslow
United Shoe Machinery Company, 1899–1917
Robert E. Wood
Sears, Roebuck & Company, 1928–1954
Edgar S. Woolard, Jr.
DuPont Corporation, 1989–1995
Clarence M. Woolley
American Radiator Company, 1902–1924
Alfred M. Zeien
Gillette Company, 1991–1999
Load More

THE 20th CENTURY ZEITGEIST

Six contextual factors deeply influenced the opportunities available to 20th century business leaders:

  • Demographics
  • Technology
  • Social Mores
  • Government
  • Labor
  • Global

the 20th Century Zeitgeist

Demographics
  • Demographics
  • Technology
  • Social Mores
  • Government Intervention
  • Labor
  • Global Events
Influence: High
190019

8.8 million immigrants arrive throughout decade

Cities expand

Population grows from 76 to 92 million

Rural Free Delivery routes added

Influence: Medium
10191019

Anti-immigration sentiment peaks during WWI

Great Migration begins as African-Americans relocate from rural South to northern cities

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

Population of urban centers overtakes that of rural communities

Tight immigration restrictions

Increase in divorce rates

Influence: Medium-Low
30193019

Westward migration of midwestern farmers and laborers for employment and better climate

Massive dust storms uproot millions

Smallest ten-year increase in population: 123-132 million

Influence: Medium-High
40194019

Baby boom begins

Suburbs start to form

Influence: High
50195019

Medical advances extend life expectancy

More people now live in suburbs than cities

Population soars to 179 million

largest ten-year increase

Influence: High
60196019

Baby boom tapers off

Emigration from Asia and Latin America surges

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

Urban blight

Rust Belt

Influence: Medium-High
80198019

Population migrates to West and Southwest

Influence: High
901990

Immigration tops 9 million (largest number since first decade)

Baby boomers age

Hispanics become fastest-growing minority

Population grows from 250 million to 281 million

Influence: Medium-High
190019

Model T

Plastic

Safety razor

Widespread use of steam engine, electricity, and openhearth furnace allows businesses to expand nationwide

Influence: Medium
10191019

First widespread use of auto assembly line

Self-starter increases popularity of automobile

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

KDKA, first radio station

First talking movie,

Influence: Medium
30193019

Advances in aviation

Nylon

Fiberglass

Instant photography

Air-conditioning begins to realize commercial potential

Influence: High
40194019

Planes and ships built in less than a day for the war effort

Atomic bomb

ENIAC computer

Penicillin used extensively to treat soldiers' infections

Synthetic rubberx

Influence: High
50195019

Television sales expand dramatically

Transistors used in portable radios and calculators

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Man walks on the moon

Color TV market grows

Microchips expand possibilities in electronics industry

Integrated circuit boards replace transistor technology

First ATM installed

Influence: Medium
70197019

Beginning of biotech industry

Fiber-optic wire

Pong (first video game)

UPC bar code

Supercomputer

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Software industry booms

PC use expands in scale and scope

CAD/CAM revolutionizes manufacturing

Space shuttle

Influence: Medium-High
901990

Boom in connectivity

Cloning, stem cell research

DVDs

Influence: Medium
190019

Progressivism

The Jungle sparks food and work safety movement

Influence: Low
10191019

Sedition Act

Prohibition begins

Red Scare

Race riots

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

Social divisions arise between rural and urban areas

Women's suffrage

Harlem Renaissance

Rampant bootlegging and organized crime

Influence: Medium
30193019

Escapism in radio serials

Prohibition repealed

Golden age of movies

Influence: Medium-Low
40194019

Patriotism soars

GI Bill

Influence: Medium-Low
50195019

Social conformity

McCarthyism

Membership in organized religion soars

Brown v. Board of Education desegregated public schools>

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Civil rights movement gain strength

Antiwar sentiment divides electorate

FDA approves oral contraceptive pill

Influence: High
70197019

National Organization for Women mobilizes for Equal Rights Amendment

Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion

Social discord continues over Vietnam War and civil rights

Watergate scandal undermines faith in authority

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Moral Majority

"Me" generation

Focus on training and fitness

Income gap widens dramatically

AIDS

Influence: High
901990

Internet "irrational exuberance"

Antigovernment sentiment: Waco standoff; Oklahoma City bombing

Influence: Medium-Low
190019

First significant enforcement of Sherman Antitrust Act

Pure Food and Drug Act; breakup of beef trust

Excise Tax imposed on corporations

Tariff Act forces corporations to open their books for government inspection

Influence: High
10191019

Breakup of Standard Oil and American Tobacco

Clayton Antitrust Act

Federal Reserve Act

First Federal-Aid Highway Act

Federal Trade Commission established

Personal income tax reinstituted

Influence: Low
20192019

U.S. Steel and Alcoa withstand antitrust accusations

Personal and corporate tax rates cut

Airmail service starts

Influence: High
30193019

The New Deal

Commercial and investment banking separated

Reconstruction Finance Corp. created to combat bank and business failures

Introduction of Federal Deposit Insurance

SEC established

Federal regulations prohibit false advertising

Influence: Low
40194019

Military spending explodes

Graduated income tax, Victory Tax adopted to fund war effort

Rationing

Influence: Medium-Low
50195019

Military spending shifts to nuclear deterrents

Small Business Administration created

Influence: Medium
60196019

Great Society

Consumer and environmental protection movements strengthen

Vehicle Safety Act and Highway Safety Act

Closing merger loophole opens door for conglomerate business model

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

Deregulation of oil and airline industries

New energy policies and programs

Stagflation cripples economy

Environmental protection weakened

Price controls

Influence: Low
80198019

Reaganomics

Heavy defense and deficit spending

Savings and Loan bailout

Chrysler bailout

Breakup of AT&T

Influence: Medium-Low
901990

Family and Medical Leave Act

Americans with Disabilities Act

Welfare reform

Antitrust action initiated against Microsoft

Influence: Medium-Low
190019

Fewer than 500,000 union members

Department of Commerce and Labor created

Influence: Medium
10191019

Ford doubles factory wages and shortens workday

Labor Secretary position created

Worker shortage: Unions double membership and increase wages

Influence: Medium-Low
20192019

Union membership declines sharply

Minimum wage and maximum working hour legislation overturned

Influence: High
30193019

Unemployment peaks at 25%

Unions surge, adding 7 million members in a single year

Sit-down strikes at GM and other auto makers

Government work programs launched: CCC, PWA, WPA

CIO union created

NLRB created

Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage

Influence: Low
40194019

Rosie the Riveter

Postwar strikes

Productivity surge

Government backlash against postwar union movement

Influence: Medium
50195019

The Organization Man

Union membership peaks

The AFL merges with the CIO: 15 million members

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Factory automation slashes jobs

Service industry outpaces growth in manufacturing

Civil Rights Act

Equal Pay Act

Unions concentrated in big businesses

Formation of United Farm Workers union

Influence: Medium
70197019

Wage controls

OSHA created

Service economy expands

Women enter the workforce in large numbers

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Air traffic controllers' union dismantled

Union representation drops

Information technology redistributes job functions

Influence: Low
901990

Reengineering

Record high employment

Service sector outpaces manufacturing in new job creation

Influence: Low
190019

U.S. begins construction of Panama Canal

Influence: High
10191019

War Industries Board coordinates activities among labor, government, and business for WWI

Cost-plus contracts introduced

Protectionist tariffs reduced

Influence: Medium-Low
20192019

Isolationism

U.S. restores high tariffs

U.S. pushes for debt recovery

Allied nations seek war reparations from Axis powers

Influence: Medium-Low
30193019

Increased tariff protection through Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Continued isolationism

Influence: High
40194019

War Production Board readies nation for WWII

U.S. becomes a global power

Creation of IMF and World Bank

Marshall Plan

Cold war begins

Influence: Medium-High
50195019

Cold war escalates

Korean War forces another mobilization effort

Influence: High
60196019

Cold war continues to build

Bay of Pigs invasion; Cuban Missile Crisis

Vietnam War escalates

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

OPEC oil crisis

Vietnam War ends

Iran hostage crisis

Imports outpace exports

Influence: Medium-High
80198019

Berlin wall falls

End of cold war

Iran-Contra Affair

Influence: High
901990

USSR dismantled; ethnic conflicts exposed

Gulf War: real-time TV coverage

Asian financial crisis

NAFTA enacted

European Union forms

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