John Gray Smale was born in Listowel, Ontario in 1927. He graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1949, and in 1952 he was hired as an assistant brand manager at Procter & Gamble, beginning a working life with the company that would endure for 37 years. Working in the advertising department, Smale quickly made a name for himself by persuading the American Dental Association to endorse Crest toothpaste as an effective cavity preventative.

Smale steadily took on more responsibility at P&G, becoming president of the company in 1974, and then CEO in 1981. During his nine years as CEO of Procter and Gamble, the company’s growth was remarkable. Sales and earnings more than doubled, and the number of product categories in which the company competed increased from 26 to 41. Under Smale's leadership, P&G diversified into the Health and Beauty businesses through important strategic acquisitions, including the purchase of Norwich-Eaton Pharmaceuticals and Richardson-Vicks Inc. Smale also oversaw the expansion of P&G into two dozen new countries, transforming it into a global company. During his tenure as CEO, P&G’s share price quadrupled.

In addition to growing the company, Smale also thoroughly restructured P&G, replacing the decades-old brand management model with an updated focus on category management. During his tenure, the company also partnered with Walmart to remake the relationship between the two companies, creating a widely imitated new business model for consumer packaged goods manufacturers and the retail trade.

Smale’s business career didn't end with his time at P&G. In the early 1990’s, he engineered a major turnaround at General Motors, which was widely credited with saving the giant automaker from looming bankruptcy. At the same time, he helped spark a revolution in corporate governance that transformed the way boards of directors of public companies operated.

By the time he finally retired in 2000, Smale’s legacy had expanded far beyond his impact on  P&G and General Motors. Throughout a career spanning five decades, Smale taught, mentored, and otherwise influenced the development of countless younger leaders. This included not just the seven CEOs of P&G who succeeded him, but also dozens of other executives spread across corporations around the globe. Many of those men and women are now CEOs themselves, and they credit Smale’s example as a guiding model for their own leadership.

Smale was also a major benefactor to Cincinnati, his adopted home city. In addition to leading a commission in the 1980s that thoroughly overhauled the city’s infrastructure and tax base, he personally donated funding that led to the creation of the John G. and Phyllis W. Smale Riverfront Park, a 45-acre public space combining gardens, performance venues and recreational facilities along the banks of the Ohio River.