James Neal Blue (born 1935) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chief executive officer and chairman of

General Atomics General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. Th ...

based 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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, California.

Early life

Blue was born in 1935 in

Meeker, Colorado Meeker is the Statutory Town in and the county seat of Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States, that is the most populous municipality in the county. The town population was 2,475 at the 2010 United States Census. Description The town i ...

, the son of James Elliot Blue and Virginia Neal Blue, a partner in the Denver residential real estate firm of Blue and Blue. In 1970, his mother died, and in 1986, his father died.

Education

Blue attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. During college, he was in the Air Force

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

Career

Neal and his brother Linden Blue owned the Colorado and Western Properties firm in Colorado in the 1970s. William Mathews White Jr. sold his entire holdings in

Great Western United The Western Sugar Cooperative is a grower owned American agricultural cooperative originating from the Great Western Sugar Company in 1901. History The Great Western Sugar Company was incorporated in February 1901 by Charles Boettcher and other ...

to Colorado and Western on the day he was forced to resign from his company in September 1971. White Jr. had spent the previous few years turning a pair of flour and sugar companies into a conglomerate, bringing in land marketing companies, Shakey's Pizza, and more. After the stock deal, James Neal and C&W's Arthur T. Cowperthwaite were then elected to the Great Western board. By February 1972 White amended the statement, indicating he had sold just under half of his shares, but both James Neal and Cowperthwaite would remain on the board. Neal and Linden acquired

in 1986 from Chevron Oil for a reported $60 million. Neal serves as chairman and chief executive officer of

, which specializes in diversified research, development and manufacturing in defense, energy and other advanced technology arenas.

Awards

* 2013: 29th annual International von Karman Wings Award (October 2013).

Personal

Blue's brother is Linden Blue, the vice-chairman of

References

External links

American technology chief executives Living people 1935 births People from Meeker, Colorado American billionaires Yale University alumni {{US-CEO-stub