John R. Beckett (1918–2010), an American businessman, was president and chairman of the board of Transamerica Corp. from 1960 to 1983.

Biographical Information

He was born on February 26, 1918, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and died on June 17, 2010, in

Atherton, California Atherton ( ) is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 6,823 as of July 2023 estimates. The town's zoning regulations permit only one single-family home per acre in new subdivisions, though smal ...

Career

He became president and chairman of the board of Transamerica Corporation in 1960 when it was a little-known holding company. He was CEO of Transamerica Corp. for 23 years, until 1983, he transformed it from an anonymous holding company into a major, diversified, operating company that became a household name. He embarked the company on an aggressive advertising campaign that propelled the Transamerica brand name into a household name to the general public. He increased Transamerica's earnings by 20-fold during his tenure as president and chairman. It grew to be one of the 100 largest companies in the United States. He was instrumental in the purchases of motion picture distributor

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, Transamerica Airlines,

Budget Rent-a-Car Budget Rent a Car System, Inc. is an American car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin. Budget is a subsidiary of the Avis Budget Group, with its operations headquartered in Parsippany-Troy Hills, N ...

Co., De Laval Turbine and Occidental Life Insurance. He commissioned the construction of the Transamerica Pyramid, a landmark building in the San Francisco Financial District. Construction of the Transamerica Pyramid began in 1969. The 853-foot pyramid-shaped skyscraper designed by architect

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his Futurist architecture#Post-modern futurism, futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamer ...

was intended to become San Francisco's tallest building, and its construction created instant controversy, which helped create public awareness of Transamerica. The Transamerica Pyramid is located in the heart of the San Francisco Financial District at 600 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, California. It is a part of Transamerica Center (a complex that includes Two Transamerica Center and Transamerica Redwood Park) and encompasses nearly one city block. He was named "Best Chief Executive Officer" of all U.S. financial organizations for the years 1977 and 1978 by '' Financial World''.

Family

He was married first to Dian Calkin Beckett (who died before him) and then to Marjorie Beckett, his wife of 41 years. He had two daughters Brenda Beckett of Friday Harbor, Washington; and, Belinda Beckett of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, California. He also had two stepsons: Ted of Los Angeles; and Donald Abenheim of Menlo Park. Two granddaughters: Diana Beckett-Hile of

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mill Valley is lo ...

and Sarah Beckett-Hile of

External links

* http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/fbb6b7dce5c18df9?pli=1 * https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53982984 * http://www.transamerica.com/about_us/about_the_pyramid/index.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, John R Businesspeople from San Francisco 1918 births 2010 deaths People from Atherton, California 20th-century American businesspeople