James A. Ryder

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James A. Ryder (born July 28, 1913 in Columbus , † March 25, 1997 in Coral Gables ) was an American entrepreneur and founder of Ryder .

biography

James A. Ryder was born in 1913 in Columbus , Ohio , as one of three children . His parents were Harry F. Ryder and Anna Bennett Ryder. He attended Edison Senior High in Miami .

James A. Ryder gave up an executive position in a construction company in 1932 and founded Ryder Truck Rental System, Inc. in 1933 as a transport service provider for construction materials and waste. His brothers Ralph and Harold joined his company the following year. By 1937 Ryder already had a truck fleet of 15 vehicles.

In 1939 he began leasing trucks to customers . In 1949, annual sales of over one million US dollars were achieved for the first time. By the early 1950s, Ryder was already managing almost 1,300 vehicles. Ryder drove the growth of his company through a number of acquisitions. The company went public in 1960. Ryder decided to focus his company on truck leasing and sold the transportation division to Ryder Truck Lines.

After financial difficulties in the 1970s, Ryder was forced to vacate his post as President for Leslie O. Barnes. Until then, he had held the office of President for a total of 42 years. Dissatisfied with the work of his successor, Ryder left his company and founded a new transport company, Jartran, which, however, had to file for bankruptcy after only four years.

James A. Ryder lost almost all of his personal wealth when the second company went bankrupt. Since he started a rival company after his resignation from Ryder, he was not entitled to a pension. It was not until the mid-1990s that he was again granted a pension of US $ 100,000 a year after the media became aware of his precarious private financial situation. He died of a heart attack in 1997 at the age of 83.

family

Ryder married four times and has two sons: James Arthur Ryder Jr. (born September 19, 1940 ) and Jonathan Sharpe Ryder (born August 1, 1948 , † June 15, 1975 ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c History of Ryder System, Inc. , accessed June 9, 2013
  2. ↑ Chicago Tribune: James A. Ryder, Founder Of The Truck-rental Empire , accessed June 9, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Ryder, James A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ryder, James Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur and founder of Ryder System
DATE OF BIRTH July 28, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Columbus
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1997
Place of death Coral Gables