John P. Gleason, 66, who guided Portland Cement Association from 1986 until retirement in early-2007, died Jan. 14 after a three-year battle with cancer.
Don Marsh
John P. Jay Gleason, 66, who guided Portland Cement Association from 1986 until retirement in early-2007, died Jan. 14 after a three-year battle with cancer. His tenure spanned sweeping industry and internal transitions, as a) member company ownership switched from smaller private operators or domestic public companies to mostly foreign-based multinational corporations; and, b) the association, through member mandate, retreated from a traditionally centralized role in steering industry promotion, to one charged with forging stronger ties to national concrete groups and supporting regional cement shippers associations launched to succeed the national network of PCA field offices and engineers.
Gleason joined PCA as president after nine years with Brick Institute of America, Reston, Va., where he was president and chief executive officer. From 1970 to 1977, he was deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., managing development, coordination, and marketing of all major domestic and international programs to the U.S. business community.
Gleason chaired the Council for Masonry Research and the National Codes and Standards Council; served on the American Concrete Pavement Association board and executive committee; and, was chairman of the board of CTLGroup, the Skokie, Ill.-based engineering, consulting, and research firm. He also was active with the National Building Museum Board of Trustees and U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management. He is survived by his wife, Sue, seven children, and five grandchildren.