Author.  Considered by many to be a leading marketing executive ahead of his time, he authored the books “Marketing Behavior and Executive Action,” “Theory in Marketing,” and “Planning and Problem Solving in Marketing,” in which he theorized that mathematical models and quantitative techniques could be used to analyze consumer tastes and determine the best methods of distributing advertising messages; these techniques are still used in marketing research today. He began his career with the United States Department of Commerce before going into teaching. He founded the Management Science Center at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1962, providing students with a chance to practice techniques on real world problems, which is now common practice in MBA education. Wharton continues to have an annual “Wroe Alderson Distinguished Lecturer Series.” (bio by: Jennifer M.)  Family links:  Spouse:  Elsie Wright Alderson (1898 – 1989)* *Calculated relationship