Gordon A. Cain

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1912, Gordon Cain earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana State University in 1933. He worked in the chemical industry until World War II, when he joined the Army and served in the Pacific. Wounded on Okinawa, Mr. Cain received two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.

Following his service to his country, Mr. Cain began what became a distinguished career in the petrochemical industry, eventually serving as chairman of the board of Sterling Chemicals, Inc., Vista Chemical Company, Cain Chemical, Inc., and The Sterling Group. He was also a director of Texas Petrochemicals Corporation, Atlantic Coast Airlines, Inc., Agennix, Inc., and Lexicon, Inc.

Already a legend in the petrochemical business, Mr. Cain embarked on an extraordinary career as an entrepreneur at the age of 60. He bought chemical plants from large corporations, worked with management and employees to make those plants vastly more profitable, and shared those proceeds with his employees. As one of the pioneers in the evolution of business management and implementation of employee stock ownership programs (ESOP), Mr. Cain said his insistence on sharing the wealth came from a conviction that success was more likely if everyone had a stake in the business. This guiding business principle is reflected in the title of his autobiography, Everybody Wins!

Mr. Cain and his wife Mary established the Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation in 1988. Mr. Cain passed away in 2002 at the age of 90.

In 2007 Mary Cain chose to honor and expand the legacy of her late husband by making a $100 million gift to the John Motley Morehead Foundation in support of the Morehead Scholars Program. The Foundation and Scholars Program were both renamed Morehead-Cain to reflect the significance of the gift from the Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation.

In describing the Cain Foundation in his autobiography, Mr. Cain wrote:

"The money we are giving away was made by using leverage, so it follows that leverage should be a factor in giving it away. Rather than donating money to alleviate problems, it is better to try to prevent the problems. Consequently, a substantial part of our funds is going to education at all levels, from trying to improve the secondary schools to creating college scholarships."