Burton Joseph

Returning home to Minneapolis after service as a fighter pilot instructor in World War II and Korea, Burton Joseph took charge of the small grain trading business his family had founded in 1912. Under Burton Joseph's leadership, the I.S. Joseph Company became an international conglomerate, dealing in seeds, oils, processing, shipping, livestock and commodities futures. By the mid 1980s, when Burton Joseph addresses the Academy of Achievement, the I.S. Joseph Company was operating in 50 countries through a network of sales, supply, processing, transportation and storage facilities around the world, enabling Burton Joseph to devote his time and resources to charitable causes. In the 1970s, he served as National Chairman of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith. He founded the ADL's Joseph Prize to recognize world leaders for their achievements in advancing freedom, democracy and human rights. In this audio podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1984 gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Burton Joseph discusses the qualities of risk-taking necessary for success in business. He recalls an incident from Autumn 1963, when he negotiated with the administration of President John F. Kennedy to supply wheat to a drought-stricken Soviet Union.