Clarence Francis (December 1, 1888 - December 22, 1985) was a business executive and internationally recognized expert on food.

Early life

He was born in Staten Island in 1888. Upon graduating from Amherst College in 1910 he went to New York City intending to apply for work at Standard Oil. By mistake, Francis went to the wrong office and soon found himself working for the Corn Products Refining Company, a small food manufacturing firm. This inauspicious beginning led to a lifelong interest in the food industry. By the time Francis retired from the

General Foods Corporation General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

in 1954 he had risen to become Chairman of the Board of Directors. After absorbing an initial $17 million loss in the frozen foods sector, Francis was able to turn a profit for

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

in this very important market.

Career

After working for Corn Products and

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's Fr ...

, Francis joined the Postum Company (later General Foods) in 1924. He became executive vice president in 1931, president in 1935,and then chairman of the board in 1943. In addition to his work in the food industry, Francis also served as a government consultant. By 1933 he was recognized as an expert on food production and distribution. When the National Recovery Administration, one of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

’s New Deal agencies, was created to establish codes to regulate business operations, Francis was hired as a consultant to help draft codes for the food industry. The successful conclusion of this task led to further demands for his services. Between 1940 and 1943 he assisted in defense mobilization; from 1943 to 1945 he led a committee that studied the food services at several naval bases in the United States; he studied manpower training and utilization in the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

from 1951-52; and he evaluated the Mutual Security Program in 1953. In 1949, Francis was appointed by Secretary of Interior Julius A. Krug to chair an official United States Citizens Committee for the United Nations Scientific Conference on Conservation and Utilization of Resources, held in August of that year at Lake Success, New York. Francis’ consultant work required taking extended leaves from his work at the

. After his retirement in 1954 he was able to devote most of his time to government service. He became a special consultant to President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

with the responsibility of disposing of the vast agricultural surpluses which the federal government had accumulated. At the same time he served as chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Hoover Report, and was the American representative on the European Productivity Agency. At the end of the Eisenhower administration Francis left government services and returned to private business. His last major activity was with the Economic Development Council of New York City. He remained a Director Emeritus of General Foods until his death.''New York Times'' obituary
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Clarence 1888 births 1985 deaths American business executives Amherst College alumni Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients