William “Bill” G. Mays

William “Bill” G. Mays (1945-2014)

Raised in Evansville, Mays was a 1963 graduate of its segregated Lincoln High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry (1970) and a Master of Business Administration Degree (1973) from Indiana University. After college, he went to work for Proctor and Gamble, Lilly, and Cummins Engine before becoming president of Specialty Chemicals in 1977, increasing its sales from $300,000 to $5 million in three years.

In March 1980 he started his own company, Mays Chemical, and was its sole employee for several years. By 1985 it had grown enough to purchase Specialty Chemicals and had $50 million in sales. In the next five years he doubled sales to $100 million, and then to $180 million by the time of his death.

Branching out, he purchased the Indianapolis Recorder in 1990 and other media interests in 1993, as well as businesses in property management, construction, and golf. He served as Chairman of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce (1993-1994), and on the Hoosier Lottery Commission. Sadly, he passed away on his 69th birthday, December 4, 2014.