Paul C. P. McIlhenny (March 19, 1944 – February 23, 2013) was an American businessman and executive at family-owned McIlhenny Company, maker of

Tabasco sauce Tabasco is an American brand of hot sauce made from vinegar, tabasco peppers (''Capsicum frutescens'' var. ''tabasco''), and salt. It is produced by McIlhenny Company of Avery Island in south Louisiana, having been created over 150 years ago by ...

and other Tabasco brand products at

Avery Island Avery Island (historically french: Île Petite Anse) is a salt dome best known as the source of Tabasco sauce. Located in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, it is approximately inland from Vermilion Bay, which in turn opens onto the Gulf ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Although strongly associated with Louisiana, particularly Avery Island and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, McIlhenny was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. He joined Tabasco operations in 1967, serving over the years in many different departments of the company. He spearheaded the idea of selling Tabasco-branded items, such as T-shirts, watches, aprons, golf balls, salt shakers, and neckties. McIlhenny became president of McIlhenny Company in 1998 and remained in the post until 2012, when he stepped down to replace his late cousin, Edward "Ned" McIlhenny Simmons, as chairman of the board. McIlhenny retained the office of CEO, however, while another cousin, Tony Simmons, became president and COO. Under his leadership the business experienced several consecutive years of record growth in sales, earnings and dividends to family shareholders. McIlhenny died in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 23, 2013. He was a member of

The Boston Club The Boston Club is a private gentlemen's club in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, founded in 1841 as a place for its members to congregate and partake in the fashionable card game of Boston. It is the oldest remaining social club in the city, after ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIlhenny, Paul C. P. American food industry business executives American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives of food industry companies American hunters Paul C. P. Businesspeople from Louisiana People from Iberia Parish, Louisiana United States Marines 1944 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople