George Ludlum Hartford

George Ludlum Hartford (November 7, 1864 - September 23, 1957) was the longtime Chairman and Treasurer of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), serving in those positions for over 40 years from 1916 until his death. He was the successor to his father, George Huntington Hartford (1832 - 1917) and lead the company with his younger brother, John Augustine Hartford (1872 - 1951). Under the terms of their father's will, the two brothers had total control of the company's voting stock as long as either was alive. "Mr. George" as he was known to distinguish him from his father, "Mr. Hartford", was considered the "financial genius" at the firm who balanced his brother, "Mr. John" who was the firm's "merchandising power". They built the chain into the world's largest retailer with annual sales of $4.5 billion in 1957 when George died. Time Magazine interviewed John and his brother George who were on their cover in November 1950. Wall Street Journal in an editorial on August 29, 2011 wrote "Together the brothers, neither of whom had finished high school, built what would be, for 40 years, the largest retail outlet in the world." New York Times in an editorial on September 7, 2011 wrote that John and George Hartford "were among the 20th century’s most accomplished and visionary businessmen."

Raised in Orange, New Jersey, George Jr. started his career at A&P after finishing high school. In the mid-1880s, he made an early mark on the firm by proposing that the company sell baking soda at the company's tea and coffee stores. This started a trend to add additional items that ultimately resulted in A&P becoming the first chain of grocery stores. As the company expanded into the largest retailer, George focused on finance and basic management. He was the voice of caution balancing his more outgoing brother. After John died in 1951, George exercised sole control of the company. While A&P continued to report record sales and profits during the rest of his life, the company made mistakes that ultimately lead to the loss of its position in the 1970s as the leading supermarket operator.

His personal life was also conservative and George did not marry until he was in his 40s. His wife, Josephine Burnet Logan (1861 - 1944) was a widow and they moved to Montclair, New Jersey where they lived with her daughter, Mabel. Despite his position as the company's chairman, he was largely unknown to the public and even in the company except among a small group of senior executives. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned a bronze bust of George's father George Huntington Hartford, four times life size along with 7 other men, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame in Chicago.