TopVet

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Ralph Crosby, Northrop Grumman Ralph Crosby is a corporate vice president and President of the Integrated Systems Sector of Northrop Grumman Corporation. Based in Dallas, the sector is an aerospace systems integration enterprise in which airborne systems and subsystems are designed, developed, produced, and supported. Previously, Mr. Crosby was corporate vice president and general manager of the company’s Commercial Aircraft Division.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: William G. "Gus" Pagonis Lessons learned during his 29-year career in the Army, from which he retired in 1993 as a lieutenant general, have served William G. Pagonis well.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: James Webb James Webb, whose distinguished career has swung between government service and writing, hails from a family with a strong citizen-soldier military tradition. Family members have served during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. Mr. Webb’s father was a career Air Force officer who flew B-17s and B-29s during World War Two, cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift, and was a pioneer in the United States missile program.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Jim Clark, Netscape & MyCFO Jim Clark dropped out of high school and joined the Navy not so much to see the world as to escape Plainview. After nine months at sea, he returned to the U.S., took a math test, and came out at the top of his class.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Sumner Redstone, VIACOM If “content is king,” as Sumner Redstone is frequently quoted as saying, then he is the King of Content.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: John Huey, Time Inc. John Huey, a former Navy intelligence officer who became managing editor of Fortune magazine in 1995, is the new editorial director of Time Inc., the second-highest editorial position in the company. He now has direct control over more magazines – the company publishes more than 60 -- than any other editor in Time Inc. history.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: J. Craig Venter, Celera Genomics When he was a corpsman in Vietnam, J. Craig Venter saw life vanish in an instant, blotted out by a rocket or a bullet or a booby trap. Now, a leading genomic scientist, founder of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), he is in the pioneer in the effort to unlock the elemental mysteries of life.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Jack DeBoer, Candlewood Suites Jack DeBoer is recognized as the pioneer of the extended-stay hotel concept, having founded the Residence Inn chain and co-founded the Summerfield Hotel Corp.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Steven Reinemund, CEO of PepsiCo Steven S. Reinemund, who learned a lot about leadership as an officer in the Marine Corps, is the new Chairman of the Board and CEO of PepsiCo.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Hansel Tookes II, Raytheon Aircraft Hansel E. Tookes II, a former pilot for the Navy - he flew P-3D Orions - and United Airlines, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Raytheon Aircraft Company, the world’s leading business and special mission aircraft manufacturer.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Ed Roski, Jr., Vietnam Vet and Real Estate Developer After four years in the Marine Corps, Ed Roski returned in 1966 from the jungles of Vietnam to work in the family business: Majestic Realty Company, founded by his father in 1948, of which he is now President and CEO.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Alan G. Lafley A. G. Lafley’s election last year as President and Chief Executive of Procter & Gamble capped his 23-year career with the 163-year-old company. Cincinnati-based P&G is one of the largest producers of home products in the world, including such household staples as Tide, Joy, JIF, Pampers, Pringles and Ivory.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Fred Rochlin, Author & Performance Artist At the age of 19, Fred Rochlin enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was assigned as a navigator on B-24s. Of the ten men in his crew, only two survived the war.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Albert F. Myers, Northrop Grumman As Corporate Vice President and Treasurer at Northrop Grumman, Albert F. Myers has responsibility for banking, risk management, benefits administration, pension and savings investments, mergers and acquisitions, trust management, and cash management. He was elected to his current position in 1994, 13 years after coming to Northrop Grumman as manager of flight controls engineering at the company’s former B-2 Division.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Harry J. Pearce, Hughes Electronics During his service career, Mr. Pearce served as a Staff Judge Advocate in the Air Force and was certified as a military judge.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Warren B. Rudman, Economic Legislator Warren B. Rudman served in the Army as a combat platoon leader and company commander during the Korean War. He was wounded in action. His service, he told The New York Times, changed him forever.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Harvey Schiller, YankeeNets Dr. Harvey Schiller, who flew combat missions in Vietnam during his 24 years as an Air Force pilot, is the Chairman and CEO of the YankeeNets.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Howard Stringer, Sony In 1965, just four months after Howard Stringer, a son of Cardiff, Wales, moved to the United States, he was drafted and sent off to Vietnam. He is, perhaps, the only Welshman to have served in the United States Army during the war.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Terry G. Hillard, Chicago's Top Cop Superintendent Hillard, who said he was ‘flabbergasted” to be chosen, was decorated for heroism during the Vietnam War. He was a former bodyguard to ex-Mayors Jane Byrne and Harold Washington. His wife, Dorothy, is a sister of the former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Dave Thomas, Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas, the fast-food impresario who gained fame appearing in the TV commercials that sell his hamburgers, enlisted in the Army at age 18.

WeSalute Awards TopVet: Mike Shad, AutoNation, Inc. Mr. Shad served five years in the U. S. Army, which included a year’s tour in Vietnam with the Green Berets. He joined AutoNation in 1997, when the Company acquired the award-winning Mike Shad Ford dealership and another Shad-owned Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep dealership in Jacksonville, Florida.