Russell W. "Russ" Meyer Jr. (born 1932 in Davenport, Iowa,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) is the Chairman Emeritus and former

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

(CEO) of the

Cessna Aircraft Company Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

. He was awarded the

Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy was established by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in 1948 after a trust fund was created in 1936 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, a former president of the NAA. It is awarded to a living American ...

, the Collier Trophy on two separate occasions (once jointly with Cessna), and the Meritorious Service Award from the

National Business Aircraft Association The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization based in Washington, DC, United States. NBAA’s mission, according to the non-profit data and transparency organization GuideStar, is: “to foster an en ...

(NBAA). In 2009, he became inducted into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...

. Meyer graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1954 and was awarded a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

degree from Harvard Law School in 1961. He was a jet pilot in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

from 1955-1958 and served with the Marine Corps Reserves from 1958–1961. Between 1961 and 1966, Meyer was an attorney with

Arter & Hadden Arter & Hadden LLP was a Cleveland, Ohio-based law firm that traced its founding to 1843 and ceased operations on July 15, 2003. When the firm closed, it was one of the oldest continuing operating law firms in the country. The firm had engaged in ...

in Cleveland, Ohio. He was President and CEO of the Grumman American Aviation Corporation from 1966 to 1974, and joined Cessna in 1974 as an Executive Vice President, recruited by long-time Cessna President

Dwane Wallace Dwane Leon Wallace (October 29, 1911 – December 21, 1989) was an American aviation businessman and aircraft designer. He served as the president and/or chairman of the board of the Cessna Aircraft Company from 1935 until the 1970s, having then c ...

. 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 Jack J. Pelton is the Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and the former CEO of the Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Inc (and now a brand of Textron Aviation). Before becoming Cessna's ...

. He conceived the Citation Special Olympics Airlift in 1986, which uses Cessna Citation Jets to transport thousands of disabled athletes to the National

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...

. That same year, he and Cessna were awarded the Collier Trophy for the worldwide safety record of the Cessna Citation fleet of

business jets A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pu ...

. Ten years later, in 1996, under his leadership, the Collier Trophy was again awarded to Cessna for developing the Citation X, 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 The General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, also known by its initials GARA, is Public Law 103-298, an Act of Congress on Senate Bill S. 1458 (103rd Congress), amending the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. It was intended to counteract the effe ...

, 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 Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

. He and his wife Helen have five children.

References

External links

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