Vincent Russo

VIncent Russo

Vincent J. Russo, is a retired member of the Senior Executive Service, and was the Executive Director, Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), WrightPatterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Dr. Russo was the senior civilian responsible to the Commander of the Air Force’s center of excellence for development and acquisition of systems. At the time of his retirement, the Center was responsible for the management of 47 major programs, executed an annual budget of $18 billion and employed a work force of approximately 12,000 people located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and 37 units worldwide. The Center also provided operational support for approximately 22,000 people, including personnel from more than 125 operational units collocated on the Base.

Dr. Russo entered federal service in 1962 when he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Rochester. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1962 to 1968 as a student at the Air Force Institute of Technology and a project engineer and project manager in the C-5A Galaxy System Program Office. Dr. Russo held a variety of senior technical positions within system program offices, various laboratories, and laboratory staffs. He led the team that created the Air Force Research Laboratory. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1986 and he retired in 2003. Dr. Russo is a board member, consultant, or advisor with several commercial and not-for-profit organizations.

Russo has a long and distinguished history of structuring activities to help individuals and organizations grow their leadership skills. He is passionate about teaching leadership, and he initiated an amazingly successful program of “Leaders Teaching Leadership” while he was the Executive Director of ASC. He is frequently requested by government, industry and academic organizations to share his views on leadership. Russo is a Fellow of ASM International, and an Associate Fellow of AIAA. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Distinguished Executive Award and two Presidential Meritorious Executive Awards.

Education

He has an academic background in leadership training from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of Virginia, and the Federal Executive Institute. Russo holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; an MS in Materials Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH; and a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Accomplishments

  • Presidential Meritorious Executive Award
  • Presidential Distiguished Executive Award
  • Initiated "Leaders Teaching Leadership"
  • Fellow of ASM International
  • Associate fellow of AIAA
  • President and Chairman of Air Camp Inc
  • President and CEO of Growing Splendid Leaders LLC
  • President and CEO of Aerospace Technologies Associates LLC
  • Wright Brothers Institute Board of Directors, Vice Chairman
  • Vector Composites, Inc. Board of Directors
  • UES, Inc. Board of Director
  • National Composites Center Board of Directors
  • National Aviation Hall of Fame Board of Trustee
  • Wallace-Kettering Center for Neurology Board of Advisors
  • Edison Materials Technology Center Board of Advisors
  • Antioch McGregor University Board of Visitors
  • MTC Technologies, Inc. Advisory Group
  • Battelle Memorial Institute Advisory Group
  • NASA Vehicle Systems Program Non-Advocate Review Panel
  • Air Force Research Laboratory Transformation Opportunities Study Panel, Vice Chairman
  • Consultant with Edison Welding Institute, Columbus, Ohio; Universal Technology Corporation, Beavercreek, Ohio; PTC Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton Aerospace Incorporated, Dayton, Ohio; and AT&T Government Solutions, Dayton, Ohio.