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Olive Ann Beech was a change maker. She pushed social norms and proved that women can be successful business leaders. From managing her own bank account at age seven to being the CEO and President of Beech Aircraft Company, she proved that anything is possible.

With a $6.5 million market value when she took the helm in 1950, Olive Ann ran Beech Aircraft for thirty years until she sold it to the electronics and defense giant Raytheon for $800 million ($2.4 billion in today’s dollars).

Beech, born Olive Ann Mellor, was raised in rural Waverly, Kansas on September 25, 1903, to working-class parents, Susannah Miller Mellor and Franklin Benjamin Mellor. Her keen appreciation of hard work and independence started at an early age. At 7-years old, she opened her first bank account.

Olive Ann became president in 1950 upon Walter’s death, making her the first woman to head a major aircraft company. Her legendary career spanned 50 years and by the time she retired in 1982, she’d played key roles in growing the company from 10 to 10,000 employees.

When Beech Aircraft started in 1932, it employed 10 people; when Olive stepped down in 1983, the company employed over 7,800 people with annual sales of U.S. $265 million. A Global Force for Good One of the first women leaders in her industry, Olive Ann Beech made major contributions to the field of flight and changed the world of aviation.

Olive Ann Beech: The First Lady of Aviation The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.14M subscribers 62K views 1 year ago Among the earliest and most influential people to emerge in...

Olive Ann Mellor, businesswoman: born Waverly, Kansas 25 September 1903; Founding Partner, Beech Aircraft 1932, President 1950-68, Chairman 1950-82, Chairman Emeritus 1982-93; married 1930...