Background
In his youth, Mayer spent much of his time helping out in the Chicago store his father established, and his sausage-packing plant nearby.
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Oscar Gottfried Mayer
Edit ProfileEducation
He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1909.
Career
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.
As an adjunct to his post at, he served from 1924 to 1928 as president of the Institute of American Meat Packers (later known as the American Meat Institute), advancing its interest in improving the quality of meat sold in the United States and encouraging consumers to consume more meat.
