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[edit]
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 (or GCIS [ʤisɪs]) 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[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Melvin Gordon, Tootsie Roll CEO, 95". Philadelphia Inquirer. January 24, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Watt, Abigail (January 22, 2015). "CEO and Chairman of Tootsie Roll Melvin Gordon dies at 95". Candy Industry. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Strom, Stephanie (January 21, 2015). "Melvin J. Gordon, Who Ran Tootsie Roll Industries, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Johnson, Carla K. (January 21, 2015). "Melvin Gordon, who turned humble Tootsie Roll's popularity into candy empire, dies at 95". Associated Press (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).
- ^ a b Johnson, Carla K. (January 21, 2015). "Melvin Gordon dies at 95; longtime Tootsie Roll CEO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ Schlesinger, Hank (February 2, 2015). "Melvin Gordon Is Dead at 95; Led Tootsie Roll Industries". Vending Times. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ Wood, Matt (January 23, 2015). "Melvin Gordon, Tootsie Roll CEO and supporter of research at UChicago, 1919–2015". University of Chicago News.