Joseph Benjamin Anderson Jr. (born 12 February 1943) is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of TAG Holdings, LLC.

Early life and education

Anderson was born in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

in 1943. He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

and graduated in 1965 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

Math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

. Anderson later attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, completing a master's degree in comparative government in 1972 and a second master's degree in African studies in 1973. He also studied at the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1977.

Military service

After graduation from West Point, Anderson served in the U.S. Army. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

he served two tours with the

1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. He earned a

Silver Star Medal The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an en ...

, two

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s and an

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

on his first tour, and then another Silver Star Medal, three Bronze Star Medals and ten Air Medals on his second tour. In addition to his service in Vietnam, Anderson was an instructor at West Point, and served with the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

. Anderson resigned from the Army in 1978 after 13 years, at the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

The Anderson Platoon

During September and October 1966 a French film crew joined the then Lt. Anderson's platoon in Vietnam. The footage they recorded became a documentary titled ''

The Anderson Platoon ''The Anderson Platoon'' (french: La Section Anderson, released in 1966 in Europe, 1967 in the US) is a documentary feature by Pierre Schoendoerffer about the Vietnam War, named after the leader of the platoon - Lieutenant Joseph B. Anderson - wi ...

'' (La Section Anderson), directed by Pierre Schoendoerffer. The documentary has been shown in more than 20 countries and won several prizes including an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film and an

International Emmy Award for Best Documentary The International Emmy Award for Best Documentary is presented since 1967 by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) to the best documentaries produced and aired initially outside the United States. Rules According to the ...

. The original documentary was released in 1967 and a re-edited version was released in 1987. A sequel, titled ''Reminiscences'' (Réminiscences) was released in 1989. "Reminiscences" follows up with the surviving members of the Anderson platoon twenty years after their tour in Vietnam.

Business career

After leaving the military, Anderson began a business career with

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

. After 13 years with GM, he left the firm to become the president and chief executive officer of Composite Energy Management Systems, Incorporated (CEMSI). He worked with CEMSI until 1994 when he acquired a controlling interest in Chivas Products Limited, which became Chivas Industries, LLC, in 1997. He stayed with Chivas Industries as chairman of the board and chief executive officer until 2002, when he sold his interest in the firm. He is currently the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of TAG Holdings, LLC. In 2008 TAG Holdings and its diverse group of companies had revenues of $743 million.

References

External links

Profile from www.blackentrepreneurprofile.com
* Joe Anderson's Interview with West Point Center for Oral History http://www.westpointcoh.org/interviews/before-and-after-the-anderson-platoon-a-lifetime-of-leadership-service-and-achievement see also http://www.westpointcoh.org/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Joseph B. 1943 births Living people People from Topeka, Kansas United States Military Academy alumni African-American United States Army personnel United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star University of California, Los Angeles alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni African-American business executives