Jon M. Huntsman

Jon Meade Huntsman Sr. was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder and executive chairman of Huntsman Corporation, a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals. Huntsman plastics are used in various familiar objects, including (formerly) clamshell containers for McDonald's hamburgers. Huntsman Corporation also manufactures various organic and inorganic chemicals, including polyurethanes, textiles, and pigments. 

Huntsman's philanthropic giving exceeded $1.5 billion, focusing on areas of cancer research, programs at various universities, and aid to Armenia. Jon Meade Huntsman was born in Blackfoot, Idaho, into a poor family. His mother, Sarah Kathleen (née Robison; 1910–1969), was a homemaker, and his father, Alonzo Blaine Huntsman Sr. (1910–1990), was a school educator. In 1950, the family moved to Palo Alto, California, where Alonzo pursued graduate studies at Stanford University, earning an M.A. and Ed.D. 

He then became a superintendent of schools in the Los Altos district. Jon Huntsman attended Palo Alto High School, where he became student body president. He was recruited by Harold Zellerbach, chairman of Crown-Zellerbach Paper Company, to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania on a Zellerbach scholarship. He graduated from Wharton in the spring of 1959, a brother of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Huntsman married Karen Haight, daughter of David B. Haight, in June 1959, just weeks after he graduated. Both are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). In July 1959, Huntsman left to serve for two years in the U.S. Navy as an officer aboard the USS Calvert. He subsequently earned an MBA from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business in 1966.

In 1961, Huntsman was employed by Olson Brothers, Inc., an egg-producing company in Los Angeles. There he rose through the ranks to the position of vice president of Operations. Huntsman realized that the company sustained substantial losses due to poor packaging and became interested in developing a better alternative. His leadership was key in developing the first plastic egg carton. In 1965 he established contact with the polystyrene operations of the Dow Chemical Company. 

In 1967 he became president of a joint venture between Olson Brothers, Inc., and Dow Chemical, the Dolco Packaging Corporation. Seeing an opportunity to create packaging for the emerging fast-food industry, Huntsman left Dolco in 1970 to form the Huntsman Container Corporation with his brother, Alonzo Blaine Jr. (1936–2012), and others in Fullerton, California. Plants were constructed in Fullerton, California, in 1971 and Troy, Ohio, in 1972.

Since cash flow was an issue for the new company, Huntsman mortgaged his house and borrowed heavily from banks. In 1973 the company nearly collapsed when an Arab oil embargo cut off supplies of polystyrene, used to make expandable/expanded polystyrene (or EPS). In 1974, Huntsman Container Corporation created the "clamshell" container for McDonald's Big Mac. The company also developed other popular products, including the first plastic plates, bowls, and fast-food containers. 

In 1976, after the completion of its first international plant at Skelmersdale, England, a stock deal was arranged to sell Huntsman Container Corporation to Keyes Fiber Company. Huntsman continued to serve as CEO of the container business for four more years and held a directorship of Keyes Fiber Company.