Robert McNamara: Longest Serving US Defense Secretary

Robert S. McNamara was an American executive. Aside from being associated with Ford Motor Company and the World Bank, McNamara was the US Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, serving under the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and the longest serving Secretary of Defense. He played a major role for the US during the Vietnam War, after which he served as World Bank president from 1968 until 1981.

McNamara was born on June 9, 1916 in San Francisco, California. His father was an Irishman who migrated to the US 1850 after the Great Irish Famine. McNamara earned his Bachelor of Arts major in Economics at the University of California Berkeley. His MBA was from Harvard Business School.

Briefly, McNamara worked with Price Waterhouse but returned to Harvard after one year to teach accounting. At Harvard, McNamara became involved in teaching some officers of the US Army Air Forces in a program involving analytical approach in business. In 1943, McNamara joined the USAAF and was given the rank of captain. After being involved for the most part in World War II, McNamara left the military service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the War, McNamara became involved in a group of 10 war veterans headed by Charles Thornton. They went to business together and insinuated that Henry Ford was in need of reform. Ford hired the group which was later known was the “Whiz Kids.”

The “Whiz Kids” lived up to their name and turned the tables at Ford Motor Company. McNamara served as planning and financial analysis manager. The “Whiz Kids’” performance was backed by excellent results. McNamara became the first non-Ford president of Ford Motor Company.

Five weeks into his assumption of the top position at Ford, President Kennedy offered McNamara a post at either the Treasury or the Defense. McNamara preferred the position of Secretary of Defense. President Kennedy had high regard for McNamara, asking him for advice not only on matters concerning security but also business and economics. One of his major roles was providing an intelligent statistical analysis of the efficiency of involving in the protracted Vietnam War.

McNamara implemented many reforms in the Defense Department during his entire service. Being an expert in statistical analysis, McNamara streamlined the department and implemented a number of cost-reduction measure to increase the US defense efficiency.