John Ruan (February 11, 1914 – February 14, 2010) was the former Chairman and CEO of The Ruan Companies and Chairman Emeritus of the

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...

. At the Ruan Companies, Ruan represented a diversified group of businesses with activities that include transportation, commercial banking, financial services, international trading and real estate development.

Career

In his native

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, Ruan was a major contributor in business and the development of the

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

metropolitan area. In the early 1970s, Ruan built the 36 story

Ruan Center The Ruan Center is a high-rise office building located at 666 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, which was built by Ruan Transportation. The building was completed in 1975 and stands at a height of 459.68 ft (140m), and was the tallest buildi ...

to house the administration of the growing number of Ruan companies. Ruan built the 33-story

Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hote ...

Hotel in 1980 and the 14-story Two Ruan Center in 1982. He was active in the development and building of the Des Moines Convention Center in 1985 as well as several parking ramps in the downtown area. Ruan also owned Bankers Trust Company, the largest independent bank in Iowa. Ruan funded ongoing research at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes MS Clinic in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and also sponsored the Ruan Neuroscience Center at Mercy Medical Center in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. Ruan began his trucking company in 1932 with only one truck. This small business grew into Ruan Transportation Management Systems, which is now one of the nation's largest trucking operations. Internationally, Ruan founded the Iowa Export-Import Trading Company, a business involving over 50 nations around the world. He was the subject of a 2003 biography, ''In for the Long Haul: The Life of John Ruan'', by historian William B. Fredericks. Ruan died on February 14, 2010, three days after his 96th birthday. Ruan was survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Jayne Adams; two sons, John III, and Thomas; six grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren. His daughter, Jayne, died in 1992, at the age of 44.

Career

References

Further reading