Edwin George ĢƵ, a pioneer of the management consulting profession, founded ĢƵ Allen Hamilton in 1914 in Chicago, originally under the name The Business Research Service. He led the firm as its chairman until 1946, and continued to work part-time for clients and to mentor the next generation of leaders until his death in 1951.
Ed’s first major client assignment was for the Illinois State Railroad, researching potential customer reaction to a rate increase. He also served several Illinois banks and the Minneapolis Journal newspaper in the firm’s early days before being drafted into the Army in 1917. Ed rose quickly in wartime from private to major, and returned to civilian life and his fledgling business in 1919.
He built the firm’s business and client base, serving Goodyear Tire, Addressograph Corp., General Mills, U.S. Gypsum, Montgomery Ward, and other major industrial and service companies with management consulting, organization, and market research services in the 1920s and 1930s.