As YPO enters its second century, our founder’s vision continues to propel us forward. Born in 1918, Ray Hickok earned an economics degree from Rollins College, took advanced business degrees from Harvard University and Northwestern University, and served in the United States Army for four years. He joined his father's company, Hickok Belts, after returning home in 1944.

Following the elder Hickok’s death in 1945, the company’s board of directors voted Ray Hickok president and CEO at age 28.

At that time, the U.S. business community included few young executives with such major responsibilities. Hickok faced unusual problems that older, more experienced presidents did not understand. He began meeting other young men in similar situations and conceived the idea of a membership organization for young CEOs. “Why not bring together presidents who had like problems and like interests?” he asked. “If the force of these driving dynamos could be harnessed together, only good could come.”

When Ray Hickok opened the first meeting of the Young Presidents’ Organization in 1950, not even he realized the effect YPO would have on the world of business. By sharing their experiences, those first 20 young presidents helped one another cope with the unusual pressures and pleasures of early success. Hickok’s brilliantly simple concept has proven to be just what the business world needed.