General, United States Air Force (Ret.)
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Elected to the Northrop Grumman Board of Directors in 2006
General Richard B. Myers retired from his position as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2005 after serving for four years. In that capacity, he was the principal military advisor to the president, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council. Before becoming chairman, he was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where he served as the chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, vice chairman of the Defense Acquisition Board, and as a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee and the Nuclear Weapons Council.
Previously, Myers was commander in chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command; commander of the Air Force Space Command; and Department of Defense manager of Space Transportation System Contingency Support. Earlier, he was commander of the Pacific Air Forces; assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and commander of U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force. His career includes operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force and Joint assignments. A command pilot, he has flown more than 4,100 hours in the T-33, C-37, C-21, F-4, F-15 and F-16 aircraft, including 600 combat hours in the F-4.
Myers earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University and a masters degree in business administration from Auburn University. He attended the Air Command and Staff College, the U.S. Army War College, and the program for senior executives in national and international security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
General Myers is a director of Deere & Company, United Technologies, and Aon Corp. He is foundation professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University and holds the Colin Powell chair of character, leadership and ethics at National Defense University.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
