  charles william duncan, jr. (born september 9, 1926) is an american entrepreneur, administrator, and statesman best known for serving as u.s. secretary of energy on the cabinet of president jimmy carter from 1979 to 1981. he had previously served as carter's united states deputy secretary of defense during the iranian revolution. earlier, duncan had run the family business, duncan coffee company of houston, texas, for seven years, until the coca-cola company acquired it in 1964. after seven years on the coke board, duncan became the corporation's president. == early years == a native of houston, he served two years in the u.s. army air corps and then graduated from rice university in 1947 with a degree in chemical engineering. duncan also pursued two years of graduate work in business administration at the university of texas and worked briefly as a roustabout and chemical engineer for humble oil and refining corporation (now exxon)."to all high emprise consecrated": in recognition of charles w. duncan, jr., a guiding compass of rice university, may 1996. == duncan coffee company == in 1957 duncan joined his familyâs coffee business, which had been founded by his uncle and father in 1918. duncan coffeeâs early brands, notably admiration and bright & early, had become grocery staples in texas and surrounding states.texas gulf coast: its history and development, vol. iv, 1929. duncan rose steadily through the ranks and attained the presidency in 1958, when he was 31. under his leadership, the company expanded into the production of instant coffeeâa new and popular beverageâby acquiring plants in new jersey and pennsylvania. duncan also acquired several regional brands of ground coffee, including butternut foods of nebraska and f
1926_births American_businesspeople American_engineers Businesspeople_from_Texas Carter_administration_cabinet_members Living_people McCombs_School_of_Business_alumni People_from_Houston,_Texas Rice_University_alumni United_States_Deputy_Secretaries_of_Defense United_States_Secretaries_of_Energy