Acey Gaspard 
George A. Hormel turned practical experience in tanning and meatpacking into an independent Minnesota business. Follow his path from a borrowed stake in an Austin butcher shop to a major company and a carefully staged handover to his son.
George F. Johnson joined the Lester brothers’ shoe business as a foreman, acquired a financed ownership interest and later became president. His leadership coincided with industrial expansion and an influential approach to employee welfare.
John D. Hertz brought more accessible taxi service to Chicago and put his name on Walter Jacobs’s car-rental company. His career moved through manufacturing, bus transport, and finance before he and Fannie Hertz established an engineering foundation.
Joyce C. Hall began with postcards and helped build Hallmark Cards into a national business. His life traces a shift into greeting cards, distinctive branding, television sponsorship, and family-led succession.
F. Kenneth Iverson helped turn a troubled corporation into steelmaker Nucor. His biography follows the first mini-mill, the move into sheet steel, and the decentralized management system he championed.
Leo Burnett built a Chicago agency around simple, memorable advertising. His career brought familiar brand characters and a landmark Marlboro campaign, alongside questions about the influence and responsibility of commercial imagery.
Martha Rivers Ingram moved from Charleston broadcasting and Nashville arts advocacy to the chairmanship of Ingram Industries. Her story follows a family-business transition and decades of work supporting universities, music, and public cultural spaces.
Mary Kay Ash drew on decades in direct sales to start a cosmetics company in 1963. Her approach to recognition and women’s work helped build an international business, while its independent-sales model attracted criticism.
Reginald H. Jones rose through the ranks of General Electric to become its chairman and chief executive. His career reveals how he managed the pressures of the 1970s, shaped GE’s planning system, and prepared a change in leadership.
Richard L. Gelb began at the hair-coloring company founded by his parents and rose to lead Bristol-Myers. His career included the company’s shift toward health care, the 1989 Squibb merger, and support for research and education.