William Owens (admiral)
| William A. Owens | |
|---|---|
 Admiral William Owens |
|
| Nickname | Bill |
| Born | May 8, 1940 |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1962-1996 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | US Sixth Fleet |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal Navy Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit |
| Other work | CEO, Nortel CEO, Science Applications International Corporation co-CEO, Teledesic LLC author |
William A. "Bill" Owens (born May 8, 1940) was an admiral in the United States Navy and later Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[1][2] Since leaving the military in 1996, he served as an executive or as a member of the board of directors of various companies, including Nortel Networks Corporation.[1][3]
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[edit] Early life
Owens was raised in North Dakota and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1962 with a bachelors degree in mathematics.[1][4] On a Rhodes Scholarship, he earned bachelors and masters degrees in politics, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University, graduating with honors. He later earned a masters degree in management from George Washington University, again graduating with honors.[4]
[edit] Military service
Owens was appointed to vice chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second-ranking military office in the United States, by Bill Clinton in March 1994.[2] Previously, Owens has served as Commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet from 1990 to 1992, which includes Operation Desert Storm.[3] He retired in 1996.[2]
He also served as the deputy chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments, from 1991 to 1993.[3]
Owens was a senior military assistant to Secretaries of Defense Frank Carlucci and Dick Cheney, and director of the Office of Program Appraisal for the Secretary of the Navy.[4]
Owens began his career as a nuclear submariner. He served on four strategic nuclear powered submarines and three nuclear attack submarines, including tours as Commanding Officer aboard the USS Sam Houston and USS City of Corpus Christi.[4] Owens spent a total of 4,000 days (more than 10 years) aboard submarines, including duty in Vietnam.[1]
In April 2000, Owens co-authored Lifting the Fog of War with Edward Offley.[4]
[edit] Business career
After leaving the military, Owens served as president, chief operating officer and vice chairman of Science Applications International Corporation ("SAIC").[3]
In August 1999, Owens served as vice chairman and co-chief executive officer of Teledesic LLC, a satellite communications company. In June 2003, he became the chairman and chief executive officer.[5]
On April 28, 2004, Owens became the chief executive officer of Nortel, where he had previously served on the board of directors since February 2002.[5] Owens stepped in to replace Frank Dunn, who was fired following an investigation into financial reporting.[6] Owens served until November 15, 2005, when he was succeeded by Mike Zafirovski.[7]
On April 1, 2006, Owens became the Chairman and CEO of AEA Holdings Asia overseeing all Private Equity, and Real Estate investments in Asia.[8] Admiral Owens is also a chairman of privately held Intelius, an information commerce company based in Bellevue, Washington. Owens serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Polycom Inc., Daimler Chrysler AG, Embarq, Intelius, and Force 10. Since July 1, 2006, Owens has also served as a director of an Indian global information technology services company called Wipro.[9]
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's Huawei Technologies in an effort to win a major contract with Sprint for its multi-billion dollar network upgrade project. According to the Secretary of State in Kansas, Amerilink Telecom was not registered to do business in Kansas until May 2010. When Huawei Technologies (along with China-based ZTE) was blocked from participation in the Sprint project by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Amerilink Telecom and Owens withdrew virtually overnight from an active role representing Huawei. Owens may have created Amerilink Telecom in order to win favor with Sprint, since Owens served as interim CEO at Nortel, an incumbent vendor at Sprint. Former Sprint executives made up the staff of Amerilink Telecom, in what could be seen as an attempt to win business through personal relationships and inside knowledge. Neither Owens nor Amerilink's other management ever showed that they had business outside of the Huawei relationship despite doubts raised in the media. Opensecrets.org indicates that Amerilink Telecom expended no money on lobbying in 2011, whereas it spent over $100,000 in 2010, supporting the idea that Amerilink's sole client was Huawei Technologies. Industry insiders have speculated that Amerilink Telecom was a front for Huawei Technologies, questioning the independent status of the company. Owens defended Amerilink Telecom publicly in 2010, claiming that he founded Amerilink Telecom with his own funds. The source of revenue needed to support Amerilink's lobbying efforts is not known since Amerilink and Huawei did not win the Sprint network upgrade business. Huawei's VP for external affairs, William Plummer, has publicly defended Huawei Technologies, stating that these claims are baseless, but has not produced any information supporting the claim that Amerilink Telecom was independent. Amerilink's former CEO, Kevin Packingham, himself a former Sprint executive, joined Samsung in 2011 as Senior Vice President for Innovation and does not appear to have further involvement with Owens or Huawei Technologies. While no active website remains for Amerilink Telecom, the Kansas Secretary of State website indicates that Amerilink Telecom is active and in good standing. The Secretary of State also shows a San Francisco address as the official mailing address, a similar address to the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California as well as AGI Capital, a San Francisco based real estate investment and development firm. Eric Tao, that firm's principal, plays an active role in Hawaiian issues in California. It is not known what role AGI Capital or Tao himself played in Amerilink Telecom. According to the firm's website, Owens now serves as an advisor to AGI Capital.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award". http://www.governor.state.nd.us/awards/rr-gallery/owens.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b c "RETIREMENT CEREMONY TO HONOR ADMIRAL WILLIAM A. OWENS, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF". DefenseLink News Release. 1996-02-26. http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=767. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b c d "Force10 Networks Appoints Former Nortel CEO William Owens to Board of Directors". FreshNews.com. 2006-04-12. http://www.freshnews.com/news/tech-people-move/article_31159.html?Science+Applications+International. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b c d e "About Carnegie Corporation: William A. Owens". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Archived from the original on 2008-01-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20080108065930/http://www.carnegie.org/sub/about/w.owens.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b "Nortel Networks Announces William Owens as new President and CEO". Nortel Networks. 2004-04-28. http://www.nortel.com/corporate/news/newsreleases/2004b/04_28_04_ceo_appointment.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "The Best and Worst Managers of 2004: Frank Dunn". Business Week. 2005-01-10. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_02/b3915653.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "Nortel Announces Mike Zafirovski as President and CEO". http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releasesfr/show.jsp?action=showRelease&actionFor=562714. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "AEA Investors LLC—Partners". http://www.aeainvestors.com/biopartner.htm#BOwens. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "Management Team". Wipro. http://www.wipro.com/corporate/aboutus/management-team.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Adm. David E. Jeremiah |
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1994—1996 |
Succeeded by Gen. Joseph Ralston |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by Frank Dunn |
CEO of Nortel Networks 2004—2005 |
Succeeded by Mike Zafirovski |
|
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- 1940 births
- Living people
- United States Navy admirals
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
- 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 alumni
- People from North Dakota
- Nortel employees
- American people of Welsh descent
- Corporate directors
- Directors of Nortel
- Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
