The Merge

E22 – The legend that reshaped the 1990s military tech industry


Listen Later

Don’t miss our newsletter!

Mike and Jake host defense industry legend Norm Augustine in

a rare interview!

He started as an aeronautical engineer in the 1950s and rose

to become the first CEO of Lockheed Martin, before leaving it all.

He lived through the 1980s defense industry heyday, wrote a

hilarious book called ‘Augustine’s Laws ’ and led the industry through a massive consolidation in the early 1990s after the infamous ‘Last Supper.’ This is a first-hand account of how it all went down—he was in the room when it happened.

Norm shares his professional experiences and some amazing personal stories—like how he almost bought Northrop Grumman. This is an interview you don’t want to miss.

If you need any more reasons to listen, his resume and achievements are so incredible they sound made up:

- Co-founded In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the CIA

- Chairman of the Red Cross
- President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- President of the Boy Scouts of America
- Chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association
- President and Chairman of the Association of the United States Army
- Chairman of the National Academy of Engineering
- Served 16 years on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
- traveled to 130 countries
- holds 34 honorary degrees
- received dozens of accolades, including the Pentagon’s highest civilian decoration, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award---FIVE TIMES.

For those interested in #defense #military #business leadership

 ----

Links

• Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!

• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!

Jake Chapman X (@vc)

Mike Benitez (Linked In)

----

Follow us on...

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠Facebook⁠

⁠X (Twitter)⁠

⁠LinkedIn⁠

⁠Website⁠

----

Show Notes

(01:06) intro

(03:48) 1950’s at Boeing & Douglas

(04:59) Sputnik

(05:45) becoming Under Secretary of the Army

(08:59) working for Robert McNamara

(14:24) Martin Marietta

(15:47) Space shuttle story

(22:23) 1980’s defense industry hey day

(23:49) $600 roll of tape

(29:25) Augustine’s Laws

(40:04) The Last Supper

(51:04) The industry consolidates in the 1990s

(54:17) The ramifications today

(1:02:12) How Norm became CEO of Lockheed Martin

(1:05:34) Norm almost bought Northrop Grumman?

(1:13:41) How Lockheed Martin got its name

(1:16:16) the lawsuit

(1:20:32) Why Norm left the defense industry

(1:25:12) Norm’s passion now

(1:26:18) 2 life-changing encounters

(1:29:21) A call from the CIA leads to creating In-Q-Tel

(1:36:44) outro

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The MergeBy The Merge

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

339 ratings


More shows like The Merge

View all
The Truth of the Matter by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Truth of the Matter

278 Listeners

War on the Rocks by Ryan Evans

War on the Rocks

1,064 Listeners

Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast by Aviation Week Network

Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast

382 Listeners

Modern War Institute by Modern War Institute at West Point

Modern War Institute

768 Listeners

Defense & Aerospace Report by Defense & Aerospace Report, sponsored by Bell

Defense & Aerospace Report

133 Listeners

Defense One Radio by Defense One staff

Defense One Radio

138 Listeners

Fighter Pilot Podcast by E. Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello, Retired U.S. Navy Fighter Pilot

Fighter Pilot Podcast

1,847 Listeners

The Proceedings Podcast by U.S. Naval Institute

The Proceedings Podcast

211 Listeners

Net Assessment by War on the Rocks

Net Assessment

401 Listeners

The Team House by dee takos

The Team House

1,096 Listeners

The Afterburn Podcast by John "Rain" Waters

The Afterburn Podcast

910 Listeners

10 Percent True - Tales from the Cockpit by Steve Davies

10 Percent True - Tales from the Cockpit

164 Listeners

The Aerospace Advantage by The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

The Aerospace Advantage

106 Listeners

School of War by Nebulous Media

School of War

372 Listeners

NatSec Matters by Beacon Global Strategies LLC

NatSec Matters

189 Listeners