AUSA Selects TRW's Odeen for Dixon Award
29 September 1999
AUSA Selects TRW's Odeen for Dixon Award
RESTON, Va.--Sept. 29, 1999--The Association of the United States Army has selected Philip A. Odeen, executive vice president and general manager, TRW Systems & Information Technology Group, Reston, Va., to receive the 1999 John W. Dixon Award for his "outstanding contributions to America's defense.""Throughout his distinguished career, Phil Odeen has been highly admired and respected as an outstanding visionary, advisor, and leader. His contributions to the country, the United States Army, the defense industry, and the community are immeasurable and applauded," said General Gordon R. Sullivan (USA, retired), president of AUSA.
The award is presented annually to a member of the defense industry. It is named in honor of John W. Dixon, AUSA's former chairman and the first award recipient in 1989.
AUSA will present the award during its annual meeting at a luncheon on October 13 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.
At TRW Inc. - a global automotive, aerospace and information technology company - Odeen leads the company's $3 billion systems integration and information technology business, which serves defense, intelligence, civil government and commercial markets. The company's major Army programs include battlefield digitization programs, the Guardrail system, and the Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle.
In February 1997, Secretary of Defense William Cohen selected Odeen to chair the National Defense Panel; the panel submitted its report on ways to improve the nation's defense structure into the 21st century in December 1998. Odeen currently serves as the vice chairman of the Defense Science Board - where he has chaired various task forces on logistics and outsourcing - and as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel.
Odeen is chairman of the Virginia Business Council and the Henry Jackson Foundation, which supports defense-related medical research. He is active in numerous philanthropic activities and has served on the boards of various community organizations.
Odeen was previously chief executive officer of BDM International Corp. At BDM, which he joined in 1992, Odeen directed the company's growth from $300 million to $1 billion in revenues and its evolution into a multi-national information and technology firm. TRW acquired BDM in December 1997.
Odeen previously was vice chairman of management consulting services for Coopers & Lybrand and vice president of the Wilson Sporting Goods Company. In the early 1970's, Odeen served in senior positions with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council.
A South Dakota native, who resides in McLean, Va., Odeen graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in government from the University of South Dakota. He was a Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom and earned a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin.
TRW Inc. provides advanced technology products and services to the automotive, aerospace and information technology markets worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.trw.com .