The George S. May International Company celebrates its 85th Anniversary in 2010 as the world's foremost management consulting firm to medium and small businesses, as well as large companies through the firm's major accounts program. Since its founding in 1925, the George S. May International Company has kept its focus on assisting companies to improve their business operations.
The history of the George S. May International Company is the history of business in the 20th Century. It is also the history of one of the nation's more successful family-owned companies.
Of all the companies started in the past 80 years, relatively few are still in business. Even fewer are still doing the work that the founder envisioned decades ago. These facts are perhaps the strongest testimonial to the business genius, marketing skill and foresight of the company founder, George S. May (1890-1962).
In an interview in the 1940s, Mr. May noted: "I don't believe too much in looking back. If you've done well, you're too inclined to become smug. If you've done poorly, you're inclined to become discouraged. Keep looking ahead - yesterday's done with - think about today and tomorrow."
Management consulting pioneer, George S. May, was born in Windsor, Ill., June 5, 1890. Mr. May enjoyed mechanical and technical issues, he became a freelance problem-solving consultant to companies.
By 1924, George S. May had a wife and family to care for and had settled in Chicago. On February 1, 1925, he created the George S. May Company. In its first year the company billed $10,000. Three years later, volume had increased to $250,000.
When the stock market crashed in October of 1929, the company felt it. But because of the courage of George S. May and the confidence he inspired in his creditors, the company continued through these tough times. Billings rose and by 1937 billing topped $1 million and continued upward.
In 1929, the George S. May International Company expanded beyond its Midwest roots opening offices in New York City and San Francisco. In 1940 the company moved headquarters to downtown Chicago where it occupied a series of offices for the next 26 years.
World War II impacted the George S. May International Company in a variety of ways. Initially, the company worked with Canadian clients. As the U.S. entered the war, the George S. May International Company worked on behalf of the U.S. government and many war-related companies to make sure that efficient operations were used to meet wartime needs. When the war ended in 1945, billings were topping $6 million.
George S. May realized that the end of the war was going to cause some drastic changes in the business scene. He believed that the future success of the company lay with service to the smaller businesses that were formed during the war effort. With this redirection, George S. May International Company sales staff focused attention away from the industrial giants, which had been the company's primary clients, and targeted small and medium-size businesses.
The effect of this courageous move was sensational. Covering these new markets required sharp increases in personnel. By 1950, there were 500 employees and 98 percent of the clients were businesses with between 50 and 500 employees.
George S. May died on March 12, 1962, at the age of 71. With his death, a new era began for the company he founded. A president, Raymond Margolies, was appointed. All shares of stock are owned by the May family.
In 1966, the George S. May International Company moved its international headquarters to Park Ridge, Ill., a suburb about 17 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Continuing growth necessitated additional moves and expansions. The latest was the purchase in 2000 of the two-story building, next to the headquarters facility, to be used as the George S. May Training Center, creating a "corporate campus" in Park Ridge.
Paralleling the growth of the Headquarters American (HAM) Division (east of the Rocky Mountains), is the expansion of the Western American (WAM) Division (Rocky Mountains and west). Begun in 1929, the WAM offices were originally in San Francisco. The office moved to Redwood City, Calif., then in 1993 to San Jose, Calif. In December 2001, offices for western North American operations were moved to Las Vegas, Nev. In March 2007, the two operating Divisions were combined and centralized at the Company's International Headquarters in Park Ridge, Illinois.
On February 1, 1990, the George S. May International Company saw another management era begin as Raymond Margolies, a 31-year veteran of the company and president for 18 years retired. He passed the reins of the George S. May International Company to Donald J. Fletcher, who at the time was a 23-year veteran of the Management Service Department. For more than 12 years, Mr. Fletcher continued the growth of the firm taking the company past the $100 million mark in volume.
On February 11, 2010 the Board of Directors has named Kerry Sam Jacobs, granddaughter of our founder, George S. May, as the new president of the company. Mrs. Jacobs is uniquely qualified to lead the company forward as we celebrate our 85th anniversary as one of America’s finest management consulting firms. 
