The quest for innovation—the courage to conquer the unknown, coupled with a persistent desire to push the envelope—is what inspires many leaders. William Pickard, founder and chairman of Global Automotive Alliance (GAA), combined business, education, and social work degrees, along with an incomparable work ethic, to fuel his creativity. His persistence paid off when he first became a franchisee in the food industry and later the chairman of his own company. His ambition—and his tenacity—led him to assume many roles throughout his career: entrepreneur, philanthropist, mentor, and author.
Thinking outside the box made former Turner Broadcasting System CEO Jamie Kellner a household name in the entertainment industry. When faced with competition from established networks that appealed to older viewers, he used innovative approaches to capture the younger demographic and showcase what would become one of the longest-running series in TV history. V. Craig Jordan repurposed a failed contraceptive and discovered an alternative use: as treatment of the most common cancer worldwide. And pediatrician Mildred Stahlman’s pioneering research helped her combat the leading cause of death in premature babies. The first baby she saved through her pioneering work went on to save others—decades later—in the same hospital.
William Pickard
McDonald’s franchisee became a wide-ranging entrepreneur
He already had a master’s degree in social work and a doctorate in higher education administration when, in the early 1970s, Pickard added the equivalent of a business degree by becoming one of the first Black franchisees of McDonald’s. There, he flipped burgers and learned to lead a team. The son of a GM worker, Pickard later bought a plastics company, became a supplier of automotive parts, and invested in newspapers and a casino, the MGM Grand Detroit. He funded college scholarships and shared his insights in a book, Millionaire Moves: Seven Proven Principles of Entrepreneurship. Pickard also was known for helping his employees and others start their own businesses. To succeed, he said, “you have to roll up your sleeves and work twice as hard as you thought you would.”
Detroit NewsDetroit Free PressWarren Winiarski
Chicago-born winemaker made Napa Valley famous
Until 1976, Europe regarded California wine as “little more than hillbilly juice,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Then came a blind taste test in Paris, where French judges deemed a Napa Valley entrant—Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, made by Winiarski’s virtually unknown winery—superior to the likes of Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion. Time magazine trumpeted what it called “the judgment of Paris,” and Napa wines soon had a global cachet. The Chicago-born Winiarski, a former humanities professor who had only recently taken up viniculture (and whose name means “son of a winemaker”), suddenly was an internationally acclaimed wine producer. He supported land conservation, endowed a position for a curator of food and wine history at the Smithsonian Institution, and funded studies on wine and climate at UC Davis.
San Francisco ChronicleNew York TimesMildred Thornton Stahlman
Pediatrician pioneered ways to save newborns
When she was a young doctor at Vanderbilt University in the 1950s, respiratory distress syndrome was virtually a death sentence for newborns. To Stahlman, that was unacceptable. She developed treatments involving a miniature iron lung, then typically used for children with polio. In 1961, she established one of the first modern neonatal intensive care units (ICU) for premature babies. Some of her insights came from studying the lungs of newborn lambs. To save babies in rural areas, Stahlman oversaw the conversion of a bread truck into a mobile care unit. Martha Lott, the first baby Stahlman treated with an iron lung, grew up to be a nurse at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
New York TimesWashington PostMaxine F. Singer
Biotech pioneer helped create safety guidelines
She was in the thick of the scientific race to explore the human genome and transfer genetic material from one organism to another. Yet Singer also was a leading voice among researchers who, in 1973, warned of the hazards of free-wheeling genetic manipulation and called for a pause in certain types of biotech research. During this moratorium, she helped develop US guidelines for safer research methods to avoid creating lethal pathogens. A Yale-educated biochemist, Singer worked for the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute before heading what is now Carnegie Science, a research organization. She urged more women to study science, stating, “It is not enough to think that ‘it can be done.’ It is also necessary to believe that ‘I can do it.’”
New York TimesWashington PostJamie Kellner
TV executive appealed to a younger crowd
His career was built on a hunch: The “Big Three” US television networks were vulnerable because of their inability to engage younger viewers. As president of the upstart Fox network starting in 1986, Kellner scored with edgy series like The Simpsons and Beverly Hills, 90210. In the 1990s, he led the Warner Bros. Network, appealing more to young women, with hits including Dawson’s Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Though the Big Three networks had dominated television for decades, Kellner’s work helped lead to today’s more diversified media landscape. He later headed CNN and promoted Anderson Cooper to the position of anchor.
Wall Street JournalNew York Times“Kellner’s work helped lead to today’s more diversified media landscape.”
Elaine Schwartz
Educator transformed middle school teaching
Middle school, a time of angst and awkwardness, can be a make-or-break for children. As an instructor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education in the late 1970s, Schwartz wanted to try new teaching methods. She helped found The Center School in Manhattan, providing small classes and individualized instruction. Students had the opportunity to participate in parent–teacher conferences. She served as principal for four decades, until age 91, and her innovations influenced other schools across the United States. Schwartz insisted that every child participate in theatrical productions. “The confidence they gain is kind of amazing,” she said.
New York TimesWest Side RagV. Craig Jordan
Researcher saved lives with breast cancer drugs
Jordan, a pharmacologist, recognized the potential of tamoxifen, which was originally marketed as a contraceptive, for a different purpose—treating or even preventing breast cancer. Working initially at the University of Leeds in England and later at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he found that tamoxifen interrupted the growth of tumors by blocking estrogen receptors. His research led to a new class of drugs that have saved millions of lives. Jordan argued that all potential applications of a drug should be investigated, not just the most lucrative ones. He described his lab work as “conversations with nature.”
New York TimesWashington PostBruce Bastian
WordPerfect creator promoted LGBTQ rights
As a lonely gay teenager in Idaho, Bastian found solace in music. In his 20s, he used a computer to help choreograph half-time shows for the marching band at Brigham Young University and discovered a passion for writing software. This led to his involvement in creating WordPerfect, the leading word processing program of the 1980s and early 1990s, praised for its clean display and features such as “find and replace.” Despite the wealth WordPerfect brought him, Bastian felt trapped as a closeted gay man and father in a marriage to a woman. He eventually left his marriage and contributed much of his wealth to musical causes and support for LGBTQ rights.
Wall Street JournalWashington PostNancy Azara
Sculptor cofounded feminist art institute
Her preferred medium for art was wood—old planks she found in Manhattan or trees that fell near her house in Woodstock, New York. Azara carved these monumental pieces of wood and sometimes painted, dyed, or charred them to create imagery evoking ancient matriarchal symbols. She believed wood had its own story to tell and was “more alive than canvas.” In 1979, eager to encourage other female artists, she helped found the New York Feminist Art Institute, an art school where women taught women. The advisory board included Kate Millett and Gloria Steinem. Although the institute ran short of funding and closed in 1990, its impact endures through the many artists it nurtured.
New York TimesSUNY EmpireFrançoise Hardy
French singer left mark on music and fashion
As a singer-songwriter, Hardy yearned to be known for her melancholy pop songs, but her looks and fashion sense drew more attention in the 1960s. She fascinated male pop stars, including David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan. Although she considered fashion modeling a chore, Hardy took that up, too. Paco Rabanne designed a gold-plated minidress for her, and the name of another fashion label, Comme des Garçons, was derived from one of her hits. She wrote books about astrology—and recognized that in one sense she was born at just the right moment: “What a person sings is an expression of what they are. Luckily for me, the most beautiful songs are not happy songs.”
Times of LondonWashington Post
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