Norman Augustine
Co-founder 1995Background
Norman Augustine served as a defense industry executive, government official, and policy thinker whose career uniquely bridged the Pentagon and the private sector. He served as Under Secretary of the Army during the Ford administration and returned to industry as president and later CEO of Martin Marietta, where he drove the company's focus on systems integration and space programs throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. His 1987 book, Augustine's Laws, offered a set of satirical but penetrating observations about defense acquisition inefficiency that have remained relevant across four decades and multiple acquisition reform efforts.
Role at Lockheed Martin Corporation
Lockheed Martin possesses a historic, dramatic founding story, representing the 1995 mega-merger of two iconic, pioneering American aviation titans that were forged in the desperate technological crucibles of World War II and the Cold War. The 'Lockheed' lineage was founded in 1912 by brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead (later phonetically changed to Lockheed) in San Francisco. They were brilliant, ambitious aviation pioneers who famously built the Model G seaplane. However, their true legacy was established in 1932 when Robert Gross, an aggressive investor, bought the bankrupt company out of receivership for a mere $40,000. Under Gross, and heavily driven by the legendary, intensely secretive 'Skunk Works' engineering division led by Kelly Johnson, Lockheed built the most advanced, classified aircraft on Earth (the U-2 spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-117 Nighthawk). The 'Martin' lineage was founded even earlier, in 1912, by Glenn L. Martin, an eccentric, daring barnstormer and aircraft designer in California (who famously employed early talents like William Boeing and Donald Douglas). Martin dominated the production of heavy bombers during World War II (like the B-26 Marauder) and later pivoted into intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and advanced space systems. The defining, corporate explosion occurred in 1995. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US government slashed defense spending (the 'Peace Dividend'). In response to this existential threat, Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta executed a staggering, historic $10 billion mega-merger. This consolidation of Skunk Works stealth technology and advanced missile systems created a defense behemoth, altering the geopolitical landscape of global military power.