Ronald L. Nicol (born June 30, 1953)
is an American business executive,
management consultant
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...
, and former submarine naval officer. Between 1987 and 2019, he was employed by
Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by re ...
, most recently the global leader of the firms technology, media, and communications practice. In 2016, he was the director of the agency action team in President-elect
Donald J. Trump's
administration transition.
Early life and education
Nicol grew up in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and attended
Beall High School in
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and is at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located west of Cumberland, the town is one of the first cities ...
.
He received his BS in physics from 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 ...
. Nicol was on active duty for seven years, teaching
nuclear engineering and serving aboard a
ballistic missile submarine. He attended
Duke University's
Fuqua School of Business with financial assistance from his employer and the
G.I. Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
, graduating with an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
in 1986.
He later served in the
Naval Reserve and attained the rank of
lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
.
United States Naval Academy career and naval career
Nicol graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1975 with honors. He ranked #7 in the class with a 3.88/4.00
(GPA) in physics. He was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Prize for outstanding academic work at the academy. After graduation, he conducted research in
at the
United States Naval Research Laboratory
The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...
.
Nicol was assigned to the
USS Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658) following nuclear power school. While on board he was qualified as officer of the deck (OOD), engineering officer of the watch (EOOW), engineering duty officer (EDO), and command duty officer. His final assignment was as main propulsion assistant (MPA) on the submarine. He successfully completed the Chief Engineers Exam and was so designated by Naval Reactors.
Nicol was detailed to the
Nuclear Power School
Nuclear Power School (NPS) is a technical school operated by the United States Navy, U.S. Navy in Goose Creek, South Carolina as a central part of a program that trains enlisted sailors, officers, Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, KAPL civilians an ...
where he served as an instructor. Nicol departed active duty in 1982 and then remained in the
Naval Reserves, assigned to
COMSUBLANT. Nicol entered retired Reserve status in 1995.
Nicol was named a 2023 Distinguished Graduate of the United States Naval Academy. This award is given to 5 living alumni from the more than 50,000 living alumni on an annual basis.
Career
Nicol's first civilian job was with
Babcock & Wilcox
Babcock & Wilcox is an American renewable, environmental and thermal energy technologies and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets across the globe with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio, USA. Historicall ...
, an energy company based in Lynchburg, Virginia,
where he later was responsible for manufacturing in the Naval Nuclear Fuel Division.
Boston Consulting Group
Nicol joined the
Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by re ...
, a management consulting firm, in 1987. He worked out of their Chicago office and was elected partner four years later. In 1993, he opened the firm's Dallas office.
In 2006, Nicol was named one of the top 25 Global Consultants by Consulting Magazine. He served as a senior partner and managing director before becoming a senior advisor in January 2016. His areas of focus have been technology and organization. He is also a Special Advisor at Tritium Partners and Anzu Industrial Capital Partners.
Trump transition
In 2016, Nicol was selected to direct the agency action team in charge of President-elect
Donald J. Trump's transition. The team was responsible for the successful turnover of all agencies of the federal government.
Subsequent to the Trump Transition, Nicol returned to the world of business by joining a number of corporate boards, becoming an advisor to
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
and
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
firms and becoming a senior advisor at The Boston Consulting Group.
Board memberships
In November 2012, Nicol became the chairman, Board of Visitors Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. During his tenure Fuqua, was rated number one U.S. business school by
Business Week. Nicol currently is Chairman Emeritus, Board of Visitors.
In March 2018, Nicol took a position on the board of Austin Industries, a United States-based diversified
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
company.
From July 2019 through October 2020, Nicol was a board member for
Top Aces US, who provide advanced airborne training to major
air forces
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 ar ...
globally.
In March 2020, Nicol became a board member for the United States Naval Academy Foundation, a not for profit organization that supports the
Naval Academy
A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers.
See also
* Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...
and its mission.
In March 2021, Nicol became a trustee for the United States Naval Academy Athletic and Scholarship Program.
NUBURU, an Industrial high power blue laser manufacturer, named Nicol the Executive Chairman in early December 2021. he will also sit on the board of the
Centennial, Colorado
Centennial is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,418 at the 2020 United States Census, making Centennial the 11th most populous municipality in Colorado. Centennial is a part ...
based company.
Personal life
Nicol is married to Liane S. Nicol. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. In 2012, the Nicols set up a $1 million
charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) to benefit their daughters and the Ronald L. and Liane S. Nicol Scholarship Endowment of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Ron
1953 births
American management consultants
Boston Consulting Group people
Businesspeople from Maryland
Fuqua School of Business alumni
Living people
People from Frostburg, Maryland
United States Naval Academy alumni
United States Navy submariners
United States Navy reservists