William Owens (admiral)
William A. Owens | |
|---|---|
 Admiral William Owens | |
| Nickname(s) | Bill |
| Born | May 8, 1940 Bismarck, North Dakota,US |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1962–1996 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff United States Sixth Fleet USSCity of Corpus Christi USSSam Houston |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War Gulf War |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal Navy Distinguished Service Medal(2) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit(4) |
| Other work |
|
William Arthur Owens[1](born May 8, 1940) is a retiredadmiralof theUnited States Navyand who served as the thirdvice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Stafffrom 1994 to 1996.[2][3]Since leaving the military in 1996, he served as anexecutiveor as a member of theboard of directorsof various companies, includingNortelNetworks Corporation.[2][4]
Early life
[edit]Owens was born and raised inBismarck, North Dakota.He graduated fromBismarck High Schoolin 1958 and from theUnited States Naval Academyin 1962 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.[5][2][6]On aRhodes Scholarship,he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in politics, philosophy, and economics from theUniversity of Oxford,graduating with honors. He later earned a master's degree in management fromGeorge Washington University,again graduating with honors.[6]
Naval career
[edit]Owens began his career as a nuclear submariner. He served on four strategic nuclear-poweredsubmarinesand three nuclear attack submarines, including tours as commanding officer aboard theUSSSam HoustonandUSSCity of Corpus Christi.[6]Owens spent a total of 4,000 days (more than 10 years) aboard submarines, including duty in Vietnam.[2]
Owens was a senior military assistant toSecretaries of DefenseFrank CarlucciandDick Cheney,and director of the Office of Program Appraisal for theSecretary of the Navy.[6]He also served as the deputy chief of naval operations for resources, warfare requirements and assessments, from 1991 to 1993.[4]
Owens served as commander of theUnited States Sixth Fleetfrom 1990 to 1992, which included duringOperation Desert Storm.[4]He was appointed toVice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,the second-ranking military office in the United States, byBill Clintonin March 1994.[3]He retired in 1996.[3]
In April 2000, Owens co-authoredLifting the Fog of Warwith Edward Offley.[6]
Promotions
[edit]| Ensign | Lieutenant (junior grade) | Lieutenant | Lieutenant Commander | Commander | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| June 6, 1962 | December 6, 1963 | December 1, 1965 | September 1, 1969 | July 1, 1977 | August 1, 1983 |
| Rear Admiral (lower half) | Rear Admiral (upper half) | Vice Admiral | Admiral |
|---|---|---|---|
| O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 |
|
|
|
|
| November 1, 1988 | August 13, 1990 | February 1, 1991 | December 2, 1993 |
Awards and decorations
[edit] Submarine Warfare insignia
|
 Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
|
|
Defense Distinguished Service Medal |
  |
Navy Distinguished Service Medalwithaward star |
|
Defense Superior Service Medal |
 |
Legion of Meritwith three award stars |
|
Meritorious Service Medal |
 |
Navy Commendation Medalwith award star |
  |
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendationwithservice star |
|
Navy "E" Ribbon |
|
Navy Expeditionary Medal |
 |
National Defense Service Medalwith service star |
 |
Vietnam Service Medalwith two service stars |
 |
Southwest Asia Service Medalwith two service stars |
 |
Sea Service Deployment Ribbonwith service star |
|
Overseas Service Ribbon |
|
Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon |
|
Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon |
Business career
[edit]After leaving the navy, Owens served as president, chief operating officer and vice chairman ofScience Applications International Corporation( "SAIC" ).[4]
In August 1999, Owens served as vice chairman and co-chief executive officer ofTeledesicLLC, a satellite communications company. In June 2003, he became the chairman and chief executive officer.[7]
On April 28, 2004, Owens became the chief executive officer ofNortel,where he had previously served on the board of directors since February 2002.[7]Owens stepped in to replaceFrank Dunn,who was fired following an investigation into financial reporting.[8] Owens served until November 15, 2005, when he was succeeded byMike Zafirovski.[9]
On April 1, 2006, Owens became the chairman and CEO ofAEA Holdings Asiaoverseeing all Private Equity, and Real Estate investments in Asia.[10]Admiral Owens is also a chairman of privately heldIntelius,an information commerce company based in Bellevue, Washington. Owens serves as a member of the board of directors of Polycom Inc., DaimlerChrysler AG,Embarq,Intelius,andForce 10.Since July 1, 2006, Owens has also served as an independent director of Indian global information technology services companyWipro.[11]
In July 2009, Owens assumed the post of non-executive chairman of US telecommunications company, CenturyLink. In August 2009, one month after his appointment at CenturyLink, Owens founded Amerilink Telecom Corp., a US telecommunications consultancy which partnered with China'sHuawei Technologiesin an effort to win a major contract with Sprint for its multibillion-dollar network upgrade project.[12]Amerilink's role in this effort appears to have been to provide independent verification by trusted Americans that Huawei Technologies would not represent a security threat to the U.S. as well as to monitor Huawei Technologies activities on an ongoing basis were it to win the contract. In addition to Admiral Owens, the Amerilink Board includedGordon England,who served as deputy secretary of defense and homeland security under former presidentGeorge W. Bush,formerMajority Leaderin the US House of Representatives,Richard Gephardt,and formerWorld Bank PresidentJames Wolfensohn.Huawei Technologies provided considerable guarantees concerning security concerns, included offering to convey its code to security officials. But security concerns prevailed and may help explain Sprint's decision not to work with Huawei.[12]
Post career activities
[edit]In July 2022, he joined with other former U.S. military leaders in condemning former president and commander in chief,Donald Trump."While rioters tried to thwart the peaceful transfer of power and ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the president and commander in chief, Donald Trump, abdicated his duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.[13]
In October 2022, Owens joined the Council for Responsible Social Media project launched byIssue Oneto address the negative mental, civic, and public health impacts ofsocial mediain the United States co-chaired by formerHouse Democratic CaucusLeaderDick Gephardtand formerMassachusetts Lieutenant GovernorKerry Healey.[14][15]
References
[edit]- ^Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Reserve Officers on the Active-Duty List.Bureau of Naval Personnel. 1984-10-01. p. 9.Retrieved2021-03-06.
- ^abcd"Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award".Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^abc"RETIREMENT CEREMONY TO HONOR ADMIRAL WILLIAM A. OWENS, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF".DefenseLink News Release.1996-02-26.Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^abcd"Force10 Networks Appoints Former Nortel CEO William Owens to Board of Directors".FreshNews.com.2006-04-12.Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^"Office of the Governor of North Dakota-Theodore Roosevelt Rough Riders Award-Admiral William Owens".Archived fromthe originalon 2019-06-06.Retrieved2019-01-27.
- ^abcde"About Carnegie Corporation: William A. Owens".Carnegie Corporation of New York.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-08.Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^ab"Nortel Networks Announces William Owens as new President and CEO".Nortel Networks.2004-04-28.Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^"The Best and Worst Managers of 2004: Frank Dunn".Business Week.2005-01-10. Archived fromthe originalon January 4, 2005.Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^"Nortel Announces Mike Zafirovski as President and CEO".Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^"AEA Investors LLC—Partners".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-29.Retrieved2008-05-05.
- ^"Management Team".Wipro.Retrieved2011-08-24.
- ^ab"Former US official joins Huawei consultancy".Financial Times.Retrieved2024-06-25.
- ^The New York Times, "We Are Retired Generals and Admirals. Trump’s Actions on Jan. 6 Were a Dereliction of Duty." July 21, 2022[1]
- ^Feiner, Lauren (October 12, 2022)."Facebook whistleblower, former defense and intel officials form group to fix social media".CNBC.RetrievedOctober 12,2022.
- ^"Council for Responsible Social Media – Issue One".issueone.org.RetrievedOctober 12,2022.
External links
[edit]Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staffof the United States | |||
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 |  | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
- 1940 births
- Living people
- United States Navy admirals
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- United States Naval Academy alumni
- United States submarine commanders
- Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Joint Chiefs of Staff
- George Washington University School of Business alumni
- People from Bismarck, North Dakota
- Military personnel from North Dakota
- Businesspeople from North Dakota
- Writers from North Dakota
- Nortel employees
- American people of Welsh descent
- Directors of Nortel
- Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
- American chairpersons of corporations
- Canadian corporate directors
- Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
- Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
- American technology chief executives
- American chief operating officers
- American chief executives of financial services companies