John H. Bryan

John Henry Bryan Jr. (October 5, 1936 – October 1, 2018) was an American businessman who was the chairman and CEO of Sara Lee Corporation from 1975 until 2001. He also was the philanthropic driving force behind the creation of Millennium Park in Chicago.

Early life and education John Henry Bryan Jr. was born on October 5, 1936, in West Point, Mississippi, to John Henry Bryan Sr. and Catherine (Kitty) Wilkerson Bryan. He has three siblings: George W. Bryan, also a successful businessman, Caroline Bryan Harrell, and the late Catherine Bryan Dill. He sat on the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs, where he served as Lead Director. Previously, he sat on the Board of the Bank One Corporation, Amoco, BP and General Motors. The farm has cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, and turkeys, and it grows hay, corn, and soybeans. He also helped raise more than $200 million in private funding for Millennium Park in Chicago, and raised key funding to preserve the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois.