Ralph A. Hart*

Ralph Hart was born in Boise, Idaho, in 1904. He moved to Alberta, Canada, when he was seven. There he was raised on a farm and earned money by catching gophers. Hart had only an eighth-grade education, but the farmer for whom he worked was a close friend of a manager of the Union Bank of Canada. At age 17, Hart was hired as a junior ledger keeper at a salary of $500 a year and was later promoted to accountant.

While working at the bank, Standard Typewriter Company hired Hart to sell typewriters. Selling and marketing became Hart's passion, and he took the company over to establish the Hart Typewriter Company. After losing money in the stock market, Hart sold the rights of his company in return for selling products for the Safeguard Checkwriting Company. He later was offered a job selling for Colgate-Palmolive Company in Canada. He lived in India, Australia, and France while working his way up in the company. He became president of Colgate-Palmolive International, and later executive vice president and chief operating officer of Colgate-Palmolive at its New York headquarters.

After 30 years with Colgate, Hart left to become president, CEO, and chairman of Heublein, Inc.