Who was the CEO of Procter & Gamble when Tide laundry detergent was launched in 1946?

Richard R. Deupree was Procter & Gamble’s president—the company’s chief executive at the time—when Tide launched in 1946.

Deupree led P&G from 1930 to 1948 and was the first company president who did not come from the Procter or Gamble families. Under his leadership, P&G moved beyond traditional bar soaps and developed synthetic detergents designed for heavy-duty laundry use. Tide emerged from that research effort and was marketed as a powerful new washing product.

P&G began test-marketing Tide in October 1946 in six American cities, including Springfield, Massachusetts; Albany, New York; and Wichita, Kansas. The product’s performance and distinctive advertising helped it become a landmark success and eventually the leading U.S. laundry detergent.

A common mix-up is Neil H. McElroy, who worked on Tide’s advertising and later succeeded Deupree as P&G’s president in 1948. A.G. Lafley and John G. Smale belong to much later periods. Although modern companies usually use “CEO,” P&G’s top executive title in this era was president, making Deupree the canonical answer for 1946.