Melvin Gordon (businessman)

Melvin J. Gordon (November 26, 1919 – January 20, 2015) was an American business executive and businessman. He served as the chairman and CEO of Tootsie Roll Industries for fifty-three years, from 1962 until January 2015.[1][2][3] Gordon, who was 95 years old, was the oldest CEO of a company trading on a major American stock exchange at the time of his death in 2015.[4] He oversaw the day-to-day production of the company's trademark brands, including Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, Junior Mints, and Charleston Chews. As of 2015, the company manufactures approximately sixty-four million Tootsie Rolls per day.[1][2]

Biography

Gordon was born in November 26, 1919, in Boston, Massachusetts.[3][5] He received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1941 and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1943.[3][5] After college, Gordon moved to a military training school in Camp Lee, Virginia, where he was hired as a quartermaster instructor. He later became the editor of Quartermaster Journal.[3] Gordon then became the chief executive of a women’s hosiery and knitwear company headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire.[3]

Melvin Gordon married his wife, the former Ellen Rubin, in 1950.[3] Ellen Gordon's father was William Rubin, the president of the Sweets Company of America, which manufactured Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops.[3] Gordon became the CEO of the company in 1962, a position he held until his death in January 2015. The company changed its name to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1966.[6]

Under Gordon, Tootsie Roll Industries acquired Mason and Bonomo, the manufacturer of Dots gumdrops, during the 1970s.[2] The company also purchased the Charm Company, the maker of Charms Blow Pops, in the 1980s.[2] Gordon added the Junior Mints and Sugar Daddy's to the company's product acquisitions during the 1990s.[2] He also oversaw the purchase of the Dubble Bubble and Andes Chocolate Mints by Tootsie Roll Industries in the early 2000s.[2]

In 2006, Gordon donated $25 million to build the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Center for Integrative Science at the University of Chicago.[7] Candy Industry Magazine awarded Gordon its Kettle Award in 2009. Ellen Gordon, the company's president, also received the Kettle Award in 1985.[2] The Gordons became the first husband and wife to win the award, which the magazine nicknamed "Kettle's First Couple."[2]

Gordon continued to work a full daily schedule until December 2014.[1][4] Melvin Gordon died in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 20, 2015, following a short illness at the age of 95.[1] He was survived by Ellen Gordon, his wife of 65 years, and their four daughters, Virginia L. Gordon, Wendy J. Gordon, Lisa J. Gordon and Karen Gordon Mills.[3]

Gordon's widow, Tootsie Roll Industries president and chief operating officer Ellen Gordon, was appointed as the company's new chairman and CEO by the board of directors following her husband's death.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Melvin Gordon, Tootsie Roll CEO, 95". Philadelphia Inquirer. 2015-01-24. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Watt, Abigail (2015-01-22). "CEO and Chairman of Tootsie Roll Melvin Gordon dies at 95". Candy Industry. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Strom, Stephanie (2015-01-21). "Melvin J. Gordon, Who Ran Tootsie Roll Industries, Dies at 95". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  4. 1 2 Johnson, Carla K. (2015-01-21). "Melvin Gordon, who turned humble Tootsie Roll's popularity into candy empire, dies at 95". Associated Press (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).
  5. 1 2 Johnson, Carla K. (2015-01-21). "Melvin Gordon dies at 95; longtime Tootsie Roll CEO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  6. ↑ Schlesinger, Hank (2015-02-02). "Melvin Gordon Is Dead At 95; Led Tootsie Roll Industries". Vending Times. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  7. ↑ Wood, Matt (2015-01-23). "Melvin Gordon, Tootsie Roll CEO and supporter of research at UChicago, 1919-2015". University of Chicago News.
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