Oscar G. Mayer, Jr.

Oscar Gustave Mayer (March 16, 1914 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive who served as chairman of the Oscar Mayer meat and cold cut production company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, the third Oscar Mayer to lead the family business, following his grandfather, company founder, Oscar F. Mayer, who died in 1955, and his father, Oscar G. Mayer Sr., who died in 1965.

Early life and education Mayer was born in Chicago on March 16, 1914. He attended Cornell University. where he was business manager of The Cornell Daily Sun, was elected to the Sphinx Head Society, and graduated in 1934. He briefly attended Harvard Business School, but left due to health issues.

Career In 1936, Mayer was hired in the accounting department of the family business's Chicago offices. He relocated to the company's office in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1946, which became the site of the company's headquarters in 1955.

In February 1966, Mayer was named the firm's chairman, filling the vacancy created in the post when his father died nearly a year earlier. P. Goff Beach was named to succeed Mayer as the firm's president.

Mayer credited his success to his involvement in the smallest details of the company's operations during his career, recalling how he had processed the company's payroll account by hand when he was one of the firm's three accountants. He stated that "I've always felt I might have a little better understanding of what people in our plant have to do because I did it myself—I've always seen our employees as individuals and I respect the hard work they do."