John Dalton
John H. Dalton served as the 70th Secretary of the Navy and was recognized by the National Security Caucus as their prestigious International Security Leadership Award recipient in 1997. The award recognized Secretary Dalton’s “leadership and vision in promoting American sea power and a bipartisan maritime strategy.” Previous award winners include: former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan; former Secretaries of Defense William Perry and Caspar Weinberger; and former Senators John Stennis, John Tower, Henry Jackson and Sam Nunn. Secretary Dalton is the only service secretary ever to receive this award. He has received numerous U.S. military decorations as well as decorations from the governments of Bahrain and Ecuador.
Currently, Secretary Dalton is President of the Housing Policy Council of The Financial Services Roundtable. The Housing Policy Council is made up of 24 companies that are among the nation’s leaders in mortgage finance. Member companies originate over 64% of the mortgages for America’s home buyers. He has served in that position since January 2005. Prior to his present position, he served as President of IPG Photonics Corporation from September 2000 to December 2004. IPG Photonics is a fiber optics company which designs, manufactures and sells a unique line of high performance fiber amplifiers and fiber lasers for telecommunications and industrial applications.
Secretary Dalton has had a distinguished career in government beginning as a naval officer. Serving in the Navy from 1964 to 1969, he received naval nuclear power training and served aboard the submarines USS BLUEBACK (as Supply and Commissary Officer) and JOHN C. CALHOUN (as Main Propulsion Assistant, Communications Officer and Weapons Officer). He attained the rank of Lieutenant while serving on active duty and subsequently was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
In 1977, President Carter nominated him to be President of the Government National Mortgage Association of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In December 1979, President Carter nominated him to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, where he served as a member and chairman until July 1981. On July 1, 1993, President Clinton nominated him to become the Secretary of the Navy. Secretary Dalton was sworn in as the 70th Secretary of the Navy on July 22, 1993 and served in the capacity until November 1998.
In the private sector, Secretary Dalton began his career with the investment-banking firm of Goldman, Sachs & Company in Dallas, Texas. After his first tour of appointed government service, he became President of the Real Estate Division of the Gill Companies of San Antonio, TX. He then served as Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Freedom Capital Corporation, a savings and loan holding company. He was later a Managing Director of Best Associates and Mason Best Company, merchant banking firms headquartered in Houston and Dallas respectively. He then managed the San Antonio office of Stephens Inc., a Little Rock, Arkansas-based investment banking firm.
Well versed in investment banking, housing policy, leadership and management, he currently serves on the boards of directors of five companies. He serves as a director of BGC Partners, Inc., Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc., Washington First Bank, IPG Photonics Corp. and Northstar Financial Services, LLC.
Secretary Dalton is actively engaged in the world community through his volunteer activities: he serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and on the Board of Governors of Wesley Theological Seminary, and is a member of the Chapter at the Washington National Cathedral, where he also serves as a chalice bearer and lay reader. He serves on the board of the Decatur House Museum and was Chairman of the DC Festival with Luis Palau held in October 2005. He is a member of the Alfalfa Club, and is a participating supporter of Habitat for Humanity and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. From April, 1999 through June 2001 he served on the President's Advisory Council of the Arts. In May, 2006 he received the Public Service Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership in energy efficiency from the United States Energy Association.
Secretary Dalton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 13, 1941 and was reared in Shreveport, Louisiana. Secretary Dalton attended Louisiana State University for one year before attending the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated with distinction from Annapolis in 1964 having served as Deputy Brigade Commander, the Academy’s number two ranking position. He was a finalist in the Rhodes Scholarship Competition. In 1971 he received a Master of Business Administration Degree form the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania. In May, 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Trinity College. He was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2002.
He and his wife, Margaret, reside in Washington, D.C. They have two grown sons. John Dalton, Jr. is married and is a Senior Manager with Parsons Corp. Chris Dalton is married and is a student at Georgetown University Law School.
Summit Video: John Dalton
Financial Literacy and Making Lending Work