Harry Cunningham to design a discount store. Walton added that Cunningham should be remembered as one of the leading retailers of all time. Cunningham and Walton both visited, and were impressed by, the early and innovative discounter Ann & Hope in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Harry Cunningham Harry B. Cunningham (1907 in Pennsylvania – November 11, 1992 in North Palm Beach, Florida) was an American businessman and retailer who founded Kmart in 1962, along with S. S. Kresge. Cunningham had a vision to convert the retail chain into a discounter. At the time, Cunningham was sharply criticized by some, including Kresge shareholders, as
Charles T. Kresge and the Thomas Alva Edison Award in 2008. He was also honored by election to the US National Academy of Engineering (2007). In 2011, he was Honorary Chair of the 22nd North American Catalysis Society meeting in Detroit, Michigan. Charles T. Kresge Charles T. Kresge is a chemist and retired Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Saudi Aramco. He was R&D Vice President at the Dow Chemical Company. His area of expertise is inorganic synthesis and his primary field of research is in the area of crystalline aluminosilicate materials, particularly for the discovery of mesoporous molecular sieves. Kresge received his bachelor's