Oscar G. Mayer, Sr.

Oscar Gottfried Mayer (March 10, 1888 – March 5, 1965) was an American business executive who served as chairman and president of Oscar Mayer, the processed-meat firm founded by his father.

Early life and education In his youth, Mayer spent much of his time helping out in the Chicago store his father established, and his sausage-packing plant nearby. He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1909.

Oscar Mayer Mayer then went to work in the operations department of the family business. In 1919, Mayer oversaw the acquisition of a meat-packing plant in Madison, Wisconsin, that became the firm's major processing facility (and later the site of its corporate headquarters), growing the Madison unit to employ 3,000 to 4,000 workers by the time of his death. Mayer was named as the firm's president in 1928, and served in that role until March 1955 when he was appointed as the company's chairman. Under his leadership, the company grew from 200 employees and $4 million in annual sales, to 8,500 employees and $300 million in yearly revenues by 1965.

Personal life At the urging of the Mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison IV, Mayer became involved in Chicago civic organizations, starting in 1912 when he was named to the board of the Chicago Public Library. He was a longtime participant in the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, serving as its president from 1938 to 1940. He served on the board of trustees of the University of Illinois from 1934 to 1940, and as its chairman in 1938 and 1939. He had been elected as a Republican to the board in a special election in 1940, and was reelected in 1942.

He received honorary degrees from Ambrose College, Beloit College and the University of Wisconsin. In 1965, Chicago's Loyola University selected him as one of six city residents recognized for their "dedicated service in the Chicago community." Northwestern University honored him in 1951 with its Centennial Award.