Bowman Gray Sr. (May 1, 1874 – July 7, 1935) was president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a major benefactor of the medical school of Wake Forest College which now bears his name.

Jul 20, 2018 · James A. Gray followed his brother, Bowman Gray Sr., to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company from Wachovia in 1920. As Vice President, James A. Gray was responsible for listing R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Apr 28, 2023 · Bowman Gray was a former president and chairman of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and a major benefactor of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Bowman Gray was born in what was then Winston, North Carolina to Wachovia co-founder James Alexander Gray and the former Aurelia Bowman.

Bowman Gray Sr. was the son of James Alexander Gray, the co-founder of Wachovia Bank. How Bowman Sr. wound up first as president and then chairman of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is a story that his grandson, former state Rep. Lyons Gray, enjoys recounting. “Bowman Gray was a teller at the Wachovia Bank in 1895 and Mr.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc., is the holding company for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the United States. As of 1999, the company held a 25 percent share of the cigarette market and sold four of the ten most popular cigarette brands in the nation: the premium brands Winston, Camel, and ...

Gray developed Whitaker Park, the largest and most modern cigarette factory in the world. He also diversified the company acquiring Hawaiian Punch and Chun King Chinese foods. Gray grew company’s sales from just over $1 billion in 1957 to nearly $2 billion by 1967.

Gray led the campaign against Lucky Strike, which vied with Camel for the top spot in the American cigarette market during the 1930s and 40s. Initiatives focus on societal challenges that are too complex for any one discipline or industry to solve alone.

Bowman Gray, Senior was a former president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and a major benefactor of the medical school of Wake Forest College that would bear his name.

In 1895 he joined R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company as a salesman, and his territory was the state of Georgia. He was later promoted to eastern sales manager, then in 1912 he was made vice-president and director of the company. He returned to Winston at this time.

James Alexander Gray (1889-1952) was a "businessman and philanthropist of Winston-Salem, N.C. He served in high-level executive capacities with Wachovia National Bank and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company."