J.R. (Dick) Iverson has been an acknowledged leader in the electronics industry for over 40 years. He recently served nine years as President and CEO of the American Electronics Association, which is the largest U.S. trade group representing the electronics and information technology industry. The 3000 member companies span the high-technology products including semiconductors, computers, telecommunications and software.
In 1995 the AEA honored Mr. Iverson with the AEA "Medal of Achievement" for overall contributions to the electronics industry. In 1994 he was honored by the IEEE as Fellow for his "leadership in proactive representation of the electronics industry".
Mr. Iverson received a BA in mathematics from San Diego State University in 1951 and continued his education in electronics through extension courses from the University of California. He spent 19 years at Teledyne Ryan Electronics where he served as General Manager from 1967 through 1972. Always at the forefront of technology, they were responsible for doppler radar systems for ASW aircraft and helicopters and for the very successful landing radar for the Surveyor and Lunar Module landings on the Moon and the Viking landing on Mars.
From 1972 to 1976 Mr. Iverson was General Manager of the Electronics Division of General Dynamics. He revitalized this Division with dramatic growth in sales and products ranging from tracking ranges and satellite systems to test equipment for the F-16 and other aircraft. The highlight was development of the first user equipments for the Global Positioning Satellite as well as the overall satellite ground environment.
From January 1976 through January 1986, Iverson was a Group Vice President for Gould Inc. He was responsible for expanding Government and commercial electronics systems through acquisitions and external developments. This Group grew to five divisions and serveral hundred million in sales and encompassed products from torpedoes and sonars to navigation equipment altimeters and simulators.
Mr. Iverson received the National Management Association's Silver Knight of Management Award and the coveted Golden Knight of Management Award. He was the recipient of the San Diego Navy League's Man of the Year Award and the Golden State Award from the California Council for International Trade and also became an Honorary General of the D.C. National Guard. He has served on many policy and technology boards in Washington, D.C. Recently, he served on the Council on Competitiveness and as Vice Chairman of Coretech, an industry university research and development consortium and is on the board of the Economic Strategy Institute and IC2 in Austin, Texas.