George B. Berry

George B. Berry, son of G. Belmont and Elizabeth S. (Caldwell) Berry, was born and raised in South Charleston. He is a 1954 graduate of South Charleston High School. During his senior year of high school he won one of 40 Westinghouse National Science Talent Search Awards, and used that stipend to attend the University of Chicago. He transferred to West Virginia University to complete his junior and senior years, maintained an outstanding undergraduate record and graduated in 1958 with baccalaureate degrees in chemical engineering (honors) and chemical engineering electives. He is a Registered Professional Engineer.

After graduation, Berry joined the Dow Chemical Company in Williamsburg, Virginia, as a research chemical engineer. From 1960 to 1976, he was employed by the Marbon Chemical Division of Borg-Warner Corporation in Parkersburg, in research, development, manufacturing and business management positions, becoming vice president of operations and engineering before joining the parent company in Chicago as corporate director of commercial development.

In 1979, Berry was elected president of Oxy Metal Industries Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation. In 1983, he arranged the purchase of Oxy Metal Industries and its 21 subsidiaries and formed OMI International Corporation. In 1988, Berry sold OMI and its 39 subsidiaries. As chairman and chief executive officer of Omicron Capital Corporation, he now devotes his time to the formation and development of small, high-technology companies.

Berry, and his wife Carolyn, are the parents of four children and three grandchildren, and are residents of Florida.