Walter Staunton Mack (October 19, 1895 – March 18, 1990) was an American drink businessman and financier. He was president of Pepsi-Cola from 1938 until 1951 after taking over from Charles Guth. Walter S Mack Jr, his son, married Consuelo Mack.
Biography
Mack was born on October 19, 1895, in Manhattan, New York City.
He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and from Harvard College in 1917. In World War I he joined the United States Navy, and he earned an ensign's commission while he served in the North Atlantic.
He was elected Pepsi's president in 1938, and served as both president and board chairman from 1951 to 1956. When he became president, the cola company had just been spun off from Loft, Inc., a New York candy company that sold its soft drink, in syrup form, to candy store soda fountains. The formula was concocted in 1893 by a North Carolina pharmacist.
Pepsi was only one of scores of cola drinks when he became president, and like all the others, was making little headway against the giant Coca-Cola bottling concern. But Pepsi made $3 million in 1938, increased profits an impressive 76 percent, and saw its stock increase in value from $70 to $190 a share.
Mack decided that real success would only come at the expense of Coke.