William Pagonis

Infobox Military Person
name=William Pagonis
born=
died=
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption=Lieutenant General William Gus Pagonis
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=??-1993
rank= Lieutenant General
commands=
unit=
battles= Vietnam War Operation Desert Storm
awards=Combat Infantryman Badge
relations=
laterwork=Executive Vice President of Logistics, Sears Roebuck & Co. Chairman, Defense Business Board Chairman of the Board/Director, Railamerica, Inc. author

Lieutenant General William Gus Pagonis was the director of Logistics during the Gulf War of 1991 and is widely recognized for his logistical achievements particularly during Desert Storm. After successfully masterminding logistics for the Gulf War and winning high praise from General Norman Schwarzkopf, Pagonis left the Army in 1993 and was elected Executive Vice President of Logistics for Sears Roebuck & Co. In 2000 he joined Railamerica, Inc. [http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:0tbmcc-t67UJ:www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromMktGuideIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml%3FpassedMktGuideId%3D121714+William+G.+Pagonis+&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4]

Career

Pagonis served in the United States Army for 29 years, retiring with the three-star rank of Lieutenant General. He earned both a Bachelor's degree in Transportation and Traffic Management and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University. He is a brother of the Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity. Called "...the logistical wizard behind the Allied success in Operation Desert Storm." in the book "Delivering the Goods" by author Damon Schechter [http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:cicgaArb_UoJ:www.locglobal.com/about/products/dtgchapter4.htm+William+G.+Pagonis+greek&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1] , Schechter goes on to say that one of the greatest inspirations Pagonis credits to is none other than his Greek ancestor, Alexander the Great, who inspired one of Pagonis’ best-remembered logistical innovations during the Gulf War, the mobile firebase. [http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:AcN_BO1mWtIJ:www.locglobal.com/about/products/dtgchapterone.htm+Gus+Pagonis+greek&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2] =Gulf War=In the Gulf War Norman Schwarzkopf's supply expert was Pagonis a short energetic greek-american.Gus was actually the first American to arrive in Saudi Arabia, literally in the country hours after it was decided to send troops.Lacking a hotel room,he had slept two nights in the back of his rented Chevrolet near the port of Dammam.Queted from page 87, chapter 8 (They are a bunch of thugs)Stormin Norman The man, the mission the triumph by Richard Pyle.

As he confirmed in interviews, his personal hall of fame also includes such generals as Ulysses Grant and George Patton. Pagonis has shown that when it comes to expertise in logistics and overall leadership in management of very complex projects and organizations, few people are better qualified than the retired three-star U.S. Army General. Lieutenant General Pagonis As head of the Sears Logistics Group, he functioned as the single point of contact for all Sears’ logistics and is responsible for Vendor Relations, Distribution, Transportation, Home Deliveries, Outlet Stores, International Logistics and the integration of Information Systems to cement it all together. With Pagonis incorporating logistics he has learned in the military into the corporate world he has turned Sears - dismissed as a dinosaur only years ago - has suddenly become a star of the retailing universe. Pagonis has been one of the key players in the turnaround of Sears. He explains, "The secret of logistics is never to lose sight of who the customer is." Since then he has left Sears and now is Chairman of the Board/Director for Railamerica, Inc. Mr. Pagonis is also Chairman of the Defense Business Board having been appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He is also Vice Chairman of GENCO Supply Chain Solutions and CombineNet, Inc. He retired as President of Sears Logistics Services during 2004, where he also served as Senior Vice President for Supply Chain for Sears, Roebuck and Company

Pagonis is also an author writing such books as "Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War", published by Harvard Business School Press.

External links

* [http://www.mojones.com/interview/2007/11/iraq-war-william-pagonis.html]
* [http://www.locglobal.com/about/products/dtgchapterone.htm Delivering the Goods]
* [http://www.goodmanspeakersbureau.com/biographies/pagonis_william.htm Goodman Speakers Bureau]

ee also

References