"What other MBA offers seasoned entrepreneurs as teachers and mentors?" - Akshay Sabhikhi '04
James Ashton
Few executives have the skills to turn around a troubled manufacturing firm. Even fewer have the courage to do what?s right, no matter what the personal consequences.
In 1982, Jim Ashton was a rising star at General Dynamics, where he oversaw production of the F-16 fighter plane, considered to be one of the most successful weapons systems in America's history. Ashton then served as president of General Dynamic's Space Services Inc. of America, which introduced the first private launch vehicle. When taking over as head of General Dynamic's Trident submarine program, Ashton discovered massive fraud and when it was clear that executives were involved, he refused to take part in a cover-up. Ashton put his career at risk and was ultimately fired for exposing a scandal that reached the pages of the New York Times and Washington Post.
Ashton quickly recovered from the loss of his corporate career and soon learned to apply management lessons from the Trident project and F-16 fighter assembly lines to leveraged buy outs of manufacturing firms. And despite long hours on the factory floor and in the boardroom, he never tired of speaking to executives, employees or students about the ethical responsibilities of leadership.
Ashton has served on the board or run over dozen manufacturing companies and has written several books and dozens of articles on technical, managerial and scholarly subjects. Despite all these accomplishments, today Ashton is most proud of his five children.
Warren Buffet once said: "Integrity, intelligence, and drive are the three most important traits for a leader, and the last two without the first are a dangerous combination." Role models like Jim Ashton remind us that integrity is what sets Acton Scholars apart.
