captain of industry

noun

1. the head of a large business firm, especially of an industrial complex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of captain of industry¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

His excellent training saves the show’s favorite captain of industry.

From Salon

At one of these meetings, I was meeting with a captain of industry, a very important person.

From Los Angeles Times

There's laughter, sandcastle construction and everyone - whether they're a captain of industry or a truck driver - is enjoying the great embrace of the ocean.

From BBC

The situations in which the 61-year-old Emirati found himself embroiled were the type of things that would typically force the resignation of a politician or a captain of industry.

From BBC

E. L. Doctorow’s novel, set between 1902 and the twilight of the 1910s, does something similar — emphasizing the mundane next to the supposedly major, so that a captain of industry becomes a minor character compared to a young boy who understands intuitively that “the forms of life were volatile and that everything in the world could as easily be something else.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• boss 
• capitalist 
• entrepreneur 
• executive 
• financier 
• investor www.thesaurus.com
• magnate 
• mogul