Education
Mead graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1957 and received his Doctor of Philosophy in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1967.
Mead graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1957 and received his Doctor of Philosophy in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1967.
Mead is Chairman Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Foundation"s board of trustees, where he served as Chairman from 2003 through 2010. He served in the United States. Army line armor and airborne units in West Germany and Vietnam between 1957 and 1978. From 1992 until 2000 Mead was President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tenneco, Incorporated. a large conglomerate, operating in 50 countries, in oil and gas pipelines, farm and construction equipment, shipbuilding, auto parts, industrial and consumer packaging, chemicals and minerals.
Tenneco was named one of the 100 Best Managed Companies in the World four times during his tenure.
At Tenneco he was elected chairman of both the Business Roundtable (1998–1999) and the National Association of Manufacturers (1994–1995). Prior to his work at International Paper, Mead was Professor and Deputy Head of the Social Sciences Department at West Point.
While there he served on the Pentagon teams writing the final chapters of the Pentagon Papers and Westmoreland’s Report on the War in Vietnam. Between his time in the military and his business career, Mead spent significant time in the White House.
Mead was a White House Fellow between 1970-1971.
Following this, Mead served as Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Council focusing on desegregation, community development, revenue sharing, and transportation from 1972-1974. As White House liaison to the District of Columbia Mead drafted the first Home Rule Bill for the District. Mead was board member for Cummins (1993–1996), Zurich Financial Services (1997–2006), and Pactiv (1998–2000).
Mead serves on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Textron, Center for Creative Leadership, and Pfizer.
Mead co-authored High Standards, Hard Choices: A Chief Executive Officer"s Journey of Courage, Risk and Change published in 2000.
Mead is a co-founder of the French-American Business Council, chaired the Transport Atlantic Business Dialogue and the Royal Shakespeare Company United States of America Board and sat on the parent London Board. Mead is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Advisory Board of the George C. Marshall Foundation, and the Pardee Research and Development Graduate School.
Before Tenneco, Mead was Executive Vice President and a member of the board at International Paper.
