John Howard Pew was an American business executive and philanthropist.
Background
He was born on January 27, 1882 in Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States, the second of five children of Joseph Newton Pew, a pioneer in the oil and natural gas business and a prominent conservative, and Mary Catherine Anderson. In 1882, Pew's father, already a veteran of the gas business, formed a partnership to supply natural gas to the residents of Pittsburgh. When Pew was two years old, in 1884, the family relocated there.
Education
Pew was educated in a series of exclusive private schools, graduating from the Shady Side Academy in 1896. That fall he entered Grove City College, a nondenominational Christian school, where his father served as chairman of the board of trustees. He received a B. S. degree in 1900. After that he made a graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Career
After studies Pew was anxious to begin work at the Sun Oil Company, which his father had helped found in 1890, in the result, his father offered him a position at Sun's Marcus Hook (Pennsylvania) refinery, as a development engineer. Although the job was supposed to be temporary, Pew never returned to MIT and instead remained active in Sun Oil until his death.
He advanced rapidly at Sun, partly because of his father's influence but also owing to his demonstrated ability as a practical chemist, engineer, and manager. In 1903, Pew made his first significant contribution to the company as part of a research team that discovered a profitable way to make a high-quality lubricating oil from the residue of refined crude oil. In 1904, Pew's team developed Sun Oil's first trademarked product, Hydrolene, a petroleum asphalt. In 1906, Pew became a vice-president and director of the company.
Following his father's death in 1912 he was elected president, a position he held until 1947, when he resigned, though retaining his directorship. From 1963 to 1971 he served as board chairman. Pew also became chairman of the executive committee following Sun's merger with the Sunray DX Oil Company in 1970. Whatever his title, Pew was the guiding force within Sun Oil from 1912 until his death. Sun Oil's success after 1912 was attributed in part to the cooperative division of labor the Pews achieved.
As president, Pew made the decision to chart an independent course for the company. It proved to be a remarkably successful approach. At the time Pew joined the company in 1901, Sun employed 327 people and served a regional market. At the time of Pew's death Sun was a true multinational corporation with more than 28, 000 employees. To guarantee company control over its operations and production process Pew consistently followed a path of vertical integration; that is, Sun owned and controlled most of the steps in the chain of oil production and distribution, such as the oil wells, pipelines, refineries, and gas stations. This policy sometimes led to slower growth, as when Pew's refusal to "pay tribute" to the Ethel Corporation hindered Sun's entry into the gasoline market until 1927, when Sun perfected its own method for producing high-octane gasoline.
His strategy benefited the industry by stimulating technological diversity and kept Sun at the forefront of innovations. This was most apparent during World War II, when Sun chemists made significant contributions to high-octane aviation gasoline, synthetic rubber, and shipbuilding.
Pew also served on the National Petroleum War Service Committee in World War I and the Petroleum War Industry Council in World War II. He served as chairman of the board of directors of Grove City College from 1931 to 1971, and as a director of Christianity Today from its inception in 1956 until his death. He served as president of the board of trustees of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church for more than three decades and was elder of his local Presbyterian church in Ardmore.
In addition Pew contributed financially to a variety of causes ranging from small business associations to the John Birch Society.
Pew died at his home in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
Achievements
Personality
He was a frequent speaker on the virtues of free enterprise and religion.
In their personal lives, Pew and his wife lived austerely in lavish surroundings. Accordingly, Pew ran his personal and business life on the philosophy of strict adherence to honesty, simplicity, and self-discipline. The Pews rarely entertained, although their guests included such prominent conservative figures as Herbert Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Billy Graham, and Robert Welch.
Connections
On January 3, 1907 he married Helen Thompson. Shortly after their marriage the Pews adopted three children.