John R. Beckett (1918–2010), an American businessman, was president and chairman of the board of Transamerica Corp. from 1960 to 1983.

Biographical Information

He was born on February 26, 1918 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California, and died on June 17, 2010 in

Atherton, California Atherton () is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020. Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Atherton was ranked as having the highest per capita income among U.S. t ...

Career

He became president and chairman of the board of

Transamerica Corporation The Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. ...

in 1960 when it was a little-known holding company. He was CEO of Transamerica Corp. for 23 years, until 1983, he transformed it from an anonymous holding company into a major, diversified, operating company that became a household name. He embarked the company on an aggressive advertising campaign that propelled the Transamerica brand name into a household name to the general public. He increased Transamerica's earnings by 20-fold during his tenure as president and chairman. It grew to be one of the 100 largest companies in the United States. He was instrumental in the purchases of motion picture distributor

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...

, Transamerica Airlines, Budget Rent-a-Car Co., De Laval Turbine and Occidental Life Insurance. He commissioned the construction of the

Transamerica Pyramid The Transamerica Pyramid is a 48-story futurist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline. Located at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washington Streets in the c ...

, a landmark building in the San Francisco Financial District. Construction of the

began in 1969. The 853-foot pyramid-shaped skyscraper designed by architect

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably pro ...

was intended to become San Francisco's tallest building, and its construction created instant controversy, which helped create public awareness of Transamerica. The

is located in the heart of the San Francisco Financial District at 600 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, California. It is a part of Transamerica Center (a complex that includes Two Transamerica Center and Transamerica Redwood Park) and encompasses nearly one city block. He was named "Best Chief Executive Officer" of all U.S. financial organizations for the years 1977 and 1978 by ''

Financial World ''Financial World'' was an American magazine for investors from 1902 to 1998. It was originally issued weekly, and later every two weeks. In the magazine's later years of publication, its signature issue was the "Sports Franchise Valuation Issue". ...

''.

Family

He was married first to Dian Calkin Beckett (who died before him) and then to Marjorie Beckett, his wife of 41 years. He had two daughters Brenda Beckett of

Friday Harbor, Washington Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,162 at 2010 census. Located on San Juan Island, Friday Harbor is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands archipelago and is the county sea ...

; and, Belinda Beckett of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California. He also had two stepsons: Ted of Los Angeles; and Donald Abenheim of Menlo Park. Two granddaughters: Diana Beckett-Hile of

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

and Sarah Beckett-Hile of

External links

* http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/fbb6b7dce5c18df9?pli=1 * https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53982984 * http://www.transamerica.com/about_us/about_the_pyramid/index.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, John R Businesspeople from San Francisco 1918 births 2010 deaths People from Atherton, California 20th-century American businesspeople