Origins of the celebrity businessman and public-facing CEOs

The concept of the celebrity businessman dates back to the 1830s with Americans' admiration of entrepreneurship. Wealthy families in the gilded age also had some level of celebrity. The first modern celebrity CEO in the vein of Donald Trump was Lei Ococa, an executive with Ford known for developing the Mustang. He became famous for turning around Chrysler during a tanking period and becoming the public face of the company, appearing in TV commercials and making media appearances, pioneering the trend of public-facing CEOs.