Russell W. "Russ" Meyer Jr. (born 1932 in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, United States) is the Chairman Emeritus and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cessna Aircraft Company. He was awarded the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, the

Collier Trophy The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...

on two separate occasions (once jointly with Cessna), and the Meritorious Service Award from the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA). In 2009, he became inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Meyer graduated from Yale University with a B.A. degree in 1954 and was awarded a Doctor of Law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1961. He was a jet pilot in the U.S. Air Force from 1955-1958 and served with the

Marine Corps Reserves The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

from 1958–1961. Between 1961 and 1966, Meyer was an

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

with Arter & Hadden in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He was President and CEO of the

Grumman American Aviation Corporation Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 ...

from 1966 to 1974, and joined Cessna in 1974 as an Executive Vice President, recruited by long-time Cessna President Dwane Wallace. Meyer was elected the company's CEO in 1975 by Wallace and the rest of the Board of Directors, and would serve in that role from 1975 to 2000 and again from June 2002 to 2004, succeeded by Jack J. Pelton. He conceived the Citation Special Olympics Airlift in 1986, which uses

Cessna Citation Jet The Cessna Citation is a family of business jets by Cessna that started in 1972 with the entry into service of the first model. In the fifty years following the 1969 first flight, more than 7,500 Citations were delivered, forming the largest ...

s to transport thousands of disabled athletes to the National Special Olympics. That same year, he and Cessna were awarded the Collier Trophy for the worldwide safety record of the Cessna Citation fleet of business jets. Ten years later, in 1996, under his leadership, the Collier Trophy was again awarded to Cessna for developing the

Citation X The Cessna Citation X is an American business jet produced by Cessna and part of the Citation family. Announced at the October 1990 NBAA convention, the Model 750 made its maiden flight on December 21, 1993, received its type certification on ...

, the first commercial aircraft to achieve a cruising speed of Mach .92, making it the fastest business jet in the world. Meyer also helped lead the passage of the 1994 General Aviation Revitalization Act, and was involved in various programs throughout his career that aimed at growing and strengthening the aviation industry. He was a close and longtime friend of legendary golfer, pilot and Cessna owner Arnold Palmer. He and his wife Helen have five children.

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Russell W. Meyer, Jr. Chairman Emeritus, Cessna Aircraft Company - Wichita Aero Club
1932 births Living people Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Collier Trophy recipients National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees People from Davenport, Iowa American aviation businesspeople American aerospace businesspeople Cessna United States Army Air Forces pilots Military personnel from Iowa {{Aviation-bio-stub