Rear Admiral (Ret.) David Rogers "Dave" Oliver Jr. (born September 17, 1941) is the former executive vice president of the

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

(EADS) for North America. Currently he is an independent consultant. Since September 21, 2006 he has been the director of the

American Superconductor American Superconductor (AMSC) is an American energy technologies company based in Ayer, Massachusetts specializing in the design and manufacture of power systems and superconducting wire. It owns AMSC Windtech in Klagenfurt, Austria. Detroit Ed ...

Corporation.

Education

Raised in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, Oliver graduated from

Ben Davis High School Ben Davis High School (BDHS) is a three-year high school in Indianapolis, Indiana. History Ben Davis was first established in 1892. The current school building was constructed in 1965. The school underwent extensive construction and renovation fr ...

in 1959 and the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1963. He received a Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs (Middle East) from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

Navy

While in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, Oliver commanded diesel and nuclear submarines, as well as two submarines groups in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, one in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and one in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. His final appointment in the Navy was Principal Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. His Military decorations include Defense and Navy Distinguished Service Medals and six awards of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

. Oliver retired in 1995.

Career

David R. Oliver Jr. held management positions at Westinghouse Electric and Northrop Grumman. For both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, Oliver served as the Principal Deputy under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. He was stationed in

Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the list of largest cities in the Arab world, second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the ...

as Director of Management and Budget for the

Coalition Forces ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

. He also served as Financial Advisor to

Coalition Provisional Authority ) , capital = Baghdad , largest_city = capital , common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'') , government_type = Transitional government , legislature = Iraqi Governing Council , title_leader = Administrator , leader1 = Jay ...

director

Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004. Early life and education Born on ...

in Afghanistan, saying of the $8.8 billion in cash that was lost by the Authority: "I have no idea. I can't tell you whether or not the money went to the right things or didn't - nor do I actually think it's important." Between 2004 and 2008 Oliver was the Chief Executive Officer of the Defense Division of EADS North America. During this time he ran the EADS portion of the capture effort for the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Tanker Program. From January 2008 through December 2011, Oliver held the title of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of EADS. In this position, he oversaw marketing, business development activities, and managed the operational activities of the EADS North America holding company. Oliver continued to grow with the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company for the North American division. He also served as a strategic advisor, mergers and acquisitions, from January 2012 to July 2013. Oliver is also a published author. He wrote an instruction primer for political appointees titled ''Making it in Washington''. He also penned a management book, ''Lead On'', and his wife's biography, ''Wide Blue Ribbon''. His latest book is on leadership, featuring examples from the naval career of

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...

. It was published in Nov. 2014 by the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

Press.

Awards

Oliver has received two awards for

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

: the Bronze Palm to the

Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the Secretary of Defense, to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exception ...

, and the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Public Service Awards.

Works

*''Against the Tide: Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2014. *''Lead On''. *''Making It in Washington'' *''Wide Blue Ribbon''.

References

External links

Dave Oliver on ''Against the Tide: Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, David R. 1941 births Living people People from Indianapolis United States Naval Academy alumni American University alumni United States submarine commanders United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal United States Department of Defense officials American male writers