David R. Oliver Jr.
David R. Oliver Jr. is a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and a defense executive. He was born on September 17, 1941, in Indianapolis. He finished Ben Davis High School in 1959 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1963. He earned a Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs (Middle East) from American University.
In the Navy, Oliver commanded submarines and submarine groups during the Cold War, with assignments in Japan and San Diego. His last Navy job was as Principal Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. He retired in 1995 and received the Defense and Navy Distinguished Service Medals and six Legions of Merit.
After leaving the Navy, Oliver held leadership roles at Westinghouse Electric and Northrop Grumman. He served as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics under both the Clinton and Bush administrations. He worked in Baghdad as Director of Management and Budget for Coalition Forces and was the Financial Advisor to Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has said he didn’t know what happened to all the $8.8 billion in cash.
From 2004 to 2008 he led EADS North America’s Defense Division, then from 2008 to 2011 he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of EADS North America. He later served as a strategic adviser on mergers and acquisitions.
Oliver is an author of Making It in Washington, Lead On, and Wide Blue Ribbon, as well as a leadership book about Admiral Hyman G. Rickover published in 2014. He has been a director of the American Superconductor Corporation since 2006 and works as an independent consultant. In 2024 he endorsed Kamala Harris for president. He has received public service honors including the Bronze Palm to the DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Army and Navy Public Service Awards.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:58 (CET).