C. Jackson "Jack" Grayson, Jr. (October 8, 1923 – May 4, 2017) was the chairman of APQC, dean of two business schools, head of the U.S. Price Commission (1971), a farmer, newspaper reporter and FBI agent. In 1977 he founded APQC as a private sector, non-profit organization.
C. Jackson Grayson was the U.S. chairman of the Price Commission in the United States from 1971 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon. In that position under the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, Grayson oversaw price controls and the process through which companies request permission to increase prices. Grayson gained exposure to productivity issues and how they related to product pricing. Grayson went on to found the American Productivity and Quality Center in 1977 where he resided as chairman and oversees the organization's public education improvement initiatives.
Education
B.B.A., Tulane University, 1944
M.B.A., Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 1947
Farm Manager, C. J. Grayson Farm, (cotton, cattle, soybeans) Fort Necessity, Louisiana, 1952
Partner, James E. O'Neill & Associates, an export-import business, New Orleans, 1953
Asst. to the Vice President for Development, Tulane University, New Orleans, 1953–1955
Chairman, U.S. Price Commission, Washington, D.C., 1971–1973
Chairman, American Productivity & Quality Center, 1975–present
Consultant Panel, Comptroller General of the United States, 1978–1991
Member of Three Presidential Commissions:
President Richard Nixon: U.S. Price Commission, 1971
President Carter: Commission for a National Agenda for the 80's, 1980
President Reagan: National Productivity Advisory Committee, 1982.
Retired member of the Board of Directors for Lever Bros., Sun Company, Overhead Door, Tyler Corporation, Whitman Corporation, Potlatch Corporation, Oryx Energy, Harris Corporation, Infomart, Browning-Ferris Industries
Member of Board of Directors, Global Alliance for Transnational Education:
Awards
2000 Named by Teleos, an English research firm, as one of the 10 “Most Admired Knowledge Leaders” in North America.
2003 The [American Society for Quality] (ASQ) awards Grayson its Distinguished Service Medal. The medal honors the lifetime contribution of any person who has been recognized as a long-term enabler, catalyst or prime mover in the quality movement.
2006 Southern Methodist University names an endowed MBA scholarship in entrepreneurial studies and an annual faculty innovation award in Grayson's honor.
