Roy Ash
Encyclopedia
Roy L. Ash was the co-founder and president of Litton Industries
and director of the Office of Management and Budget (February 2, 1973 - February 3, 1975) during the administrations of U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon
and Gerald Ford
.
Ash graduated from high school when he was 16, and was employed by the Bank of America
as a city cash-collection messenger. Shortly after World War II began, Ash enlisted in the Army Air Corps
as a private and, after a succession of promotions, became a captain in the Air Corps, serving in the Office of Management Control. After the war, he attended Harvard Business School
, graduating with his MBA and as a Baker Scholar in 1947. After briefly working again with the Bank of America, he joined Hughes Aircraft
and soon led its finance department.
In 1953 Ash and his partner, Tex Thornton
, bought Litton Industries
, a small West Coast producer of microwave tubes. By the time Ash became president of the company in 1961, Litton had completed 25 mergers and operated 48 plants in nine countries in an aggressive acquisition plan, with sales of $245 million. By 1965, the company had over $900 million in sales and produced 5,000 different items.
After his election as president in 1968, Richard Nixon
asked Ash to create and lead the President’s Advisory Council on Executive Organization, which later became known as the Ash Commission. Among its recommendations was the establishment of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)to encourage and help develop results-oriented leadership throughout the federal government. In November 1969, the President's Domestic Council instructed Ash to study whether all federal environmental activities should be unified in one agency. During meetings in spring 1970, Ash at first expressed a preference for a single department to oversee both environmental and natural resource management; by April he had changed his mind; in a memorandum to the President he advocated a separate regulatory agency devoted solely to anti-pollution programs. The report of the Commission lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency
.
Following Nixon's reelection in 1972, Ash was named the director of the OMB. After leaving OMB he joined Addressograph-Multigraph (later AM International) in an attempt to rescue the foundering duplicator company at a time when the duplication industry was shifting to photocopiers from Xerox
; he resigned in 1981.
In 2003 he and his wife donated $15,000,000 to Harvard to endow the Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
at the Kennedy School of Government.
He serves as a member of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
.
In January 2007, he sold one of his two massive Virginia "hunt country" properties for $22 million. It was the highest price ever recorded for a property in Loudoun County. Known as "Llangollen
," the Middleburg, Virginia
1100 acres (4.5 km²) equestrian manor was acquired by Ash in 1989 from the estate of Liz Whitney Tippett
, first wife of John Hay Whitney
. Ash still retains ownership of another Middleburg-area hunt country estate, "Huntlands", which he tried unsuccessfully to sell in 2005 for $18.8 million. That 550 acres (2.2 km²) property main house was built in 1837 with major additions added in 1911, and has been the weekend retreat for senators, congressmen, diplomats and Presidents; Presidents Johnson & Kennedy visited Huntland on numerous occasions.
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
and director of the Office of Management and Budget (February 2, 1973 - February 3, 1975) during the administrations of U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
.
Ash graduated from high school when he was 16, and was employed by the Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
as a city cash-collection messenger. Shortly after World War II began, Ash enlisted in the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
as a private and, after a succession of promotions, became a captain in the Air Corps, serving in the Office of Management Control. After the war, he attended Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
, graduating with his MBA and as a Baker Scholar in 1947. After briefly working again with the Bank of America, he joined Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
and soon led its finance department.
In 1953 Ash and his partner, Tex Thornton
Tex Thornton
Charles Bates "Tex" Thornton was an American business executive who was the founder of Litton Industries.-Biography:...
, bought Litton Industries
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
, a small West Coast producer of microwave tubes. By the time Ash became president of the company in 1961, Litton had completed 25 mergers and operated 48 plants in nine countries in an aggressive acquisition plan, with sales of $245 million. By 1965, the company had over $900 million in sales and produced 5,000 different items.
After his election as president in 1968, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
asked Ash to create and lead the President’s Advisory Council on Executive Organization, which later became known as the Ash Commission. Among its recommendations was the establishment of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)to encourage and help develop results-oriented leadership throughout the federal government. In November 1969, the President's Domestic Council instructed Ash to study whether all federal environmental activities should be unified in one agency. During meetings in spring 1970, Ash at first expressed a preference for a single department to oversee both environmental and natural resource management; by April he had changed his mind; in a memorandum to the President he advocated a separate regulatory agency devoted solely to anti-pollution programs. The report of the Commission lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
.
Following Nixon's reelection in 1972, Ash was named the director of the OMB. After leaving OMB he joined Addressograph-Multigraph (later AM International) in an attempt to rescue the foundering duplicator company at a time when the duplication industry was shifting to photocopiers from Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
; he resigned in 1981.
In 2003 he and his wife donated $15,000,000 to Harvard to endow the Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, formerly known as the Ash Institute, was established in 2003 and is part of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
at the Kennedy School of Government.
He serves as a member of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues...
.
In January 2007, he sold one of his two massive Virginia "hunt country" properties for $22 million. It was the highest price ever recorded for a property in Loudoun County. Known as "Llangollen
Llangollen estate
Llangollen estate is an historic American horse and cattle farm located in western Loudoun County, Virginia on Trappe Rd. near Upperville at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Eight miles from the town of Middleburg, the area is home to a number of prominent Thoroughbred-breeding farms and...
," the Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States with a population of approximately 976 as of July 2010.-History:The town was established in 1787 by American Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia statesman, Levin Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per...
1100 acres (4.5 km²) equestrian manor was acquired by Ash in 1989 from the estate of Liz Whitney Tippett
Liz Whitney Tippett
Mary Elizabeth Whitney Person Tippett was a wealthy American socialite and philanthropist who was a champion horsewoman and for more than fifty years, a prominent owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses.Born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Elizabeth Dobson and her husband...
, first wife of John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
. Ash still retains ownership of another Middleburg-area hunt country estate, "Huntlands", which he tried unsuccessfully to sell in 2005 for $18.8 million. That 550 acres (2.2 km²) property main house was built in 1837 with major additions added in 1911, and has been the weekend retreat for senators, congressmen, diplomats and Presidents; Presidents Johnson & Kennedy visited Huntland on numerous occasions.