Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century
Melvin H. Baker
National Gypsum Company
1928–1951
1928–1951
National Gypsum Company
1928–1951
1928–1951
- Industry: Construction & Real Estate
- Era: 1920
With $100,000 in capital, Baker founded the National Gypsum Company with two colleagues in 1925. When he assumed the CEO position a few years later, he led his company from a newcomer in a highly competitive field, making one product in one plant, to a diversified supplier of building and construction materials. Baker shepherded the company through the down years of the thirties and helped to position it for the construction boom that followed in the forties and fifties. Throughout his long tenure, Baker added new products, expanded plant capacity, and opened new markets for building materials.
Personal
- Born-Died: 1885–1976
- Birthplace: Tennessee
- Race: White
- Gender: Male
- Father: Farmer / Rancher