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Robert S. McNamara Attends Dedication Ceremony

LMI honors his actions of nearly 44 years ago

McLean, Virginia, July 13, 2005—LMI is a not-for-profit government consulting firm established by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in 1961. In recognition of his role in LMI’s establishment, LMI named its new conference center in honor of the former Secretary. Following an introduction by LMI President and CEO Admiral Donald L. Pilling, USN (Retired), and the official ribbon cutting, Mr. McNamara made a few remarks about his role in LMI’s creation and how LMI has prospered since that time.   

In September 1961, shortly after taking office, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara sent a memorandum to President John F. Kennedy advising that he and the Materiel Assistant Secretaries had identified a “number of highly complex problems of long standing” relating to procurement, logistics, and relations with the defense industry. “I have concluded,” Secretary McNamara wrote, “that we can achieve major breakthroughs in logistics management where we spend half of the Defense budget by sponsoring the establishment of a special, full-time organization of highly talented business management specialists.” It would be a “nonprofit, fact-finding and research organization, guided by a group of Trustees of national reputation and supported by a contract with the Department of Defense.” President Kennedy returned the memorandum with his handwritten notation of agreement. Three weeks later—October 3, 1961—the Logistics Management Institute was established.

Secretary McNamara believed the Logistics Management Institute, now known as LMI, would produce the “same type of fresh thinking on logistics that is being provided by groups such as Rand on technical and operational matters.” He summarized his intent as follows:

"Solutions to highly complex logistics problems are essential if we are to meet overall DoD objectives. The magnitude of problems is such that we must use the most experienced, capable and creative business management talent available. DoD personnel are heavily occupied with critical day-to-day operations and are unable to devote time to redesign modernization. LMI is to be a fact-finding and research organization, designed to seek solutions to these problems."

Although LMI has since expanded its focus beyond defense logistics, it still subscribes to helping government managers make decisions that enable immediate action, achieve important outcomes, and deliver enduring value.

Mr. McNamara was born in San Francisco in 1916; graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1937, with a degree in economics and philosophy; and received an MBA from Harvard in 1939. Following a year working for an accounting firm, he returned to Harvard to teach in its business school. In 1943, Mr. McNamara was commissioned a captain in the Army Air Corps and eventually served in India, China, and the Pacific. He was a member of the Strategic Bombing Study and was discharged as a lieutenant colonel in 1946. Mr. McNamara then joined the Ford Motor Company. He was elected a director of Ford in 1957 and president in November 1960. Shortly after being named president of Ford, President-elect Kennedy requested that he become Secretary of Defense, a position he held from 1961 until 1968. In 1968, he became president of the World Bank. He retired from that position in 1981. Since his retirement, Mr. McNamara has served on numerous boards of directors, spoken on a wide variety of national and international topics, and authored several books.