Dr. J. Robert Beyster
1924–2014
The visionary founder of Leidos passed away this week. Follow us on
Dr. Beyster’s life journey from renowned physicist to industry icon.
Birthplace
Detroit, MI
Service
United States Navy
Education
B.S.E., M.S., Ph.D.
Alma Mater
University of Michigan
Family
Married with three children
Blog
The Solutions Man
In 1969, with a scientist's attention to detail, J. Robert Beyster, Ph.D., founded SAI, the company that evolved into Leidos. The experience transformed Beyster from a physicist who once thought starting a company was “somewhat distasteful” to a leading proponent of employee ownership and entrepreneurship.
Born in Detroit, Mich., in 1924, Beyster grew up in nearby Grosse Ile. His father, a home designer and builder, lost his business during the Depression. He worked small design and construction jobs until finding work with General Motors. As Beyster finished high school, the United States was entering World War II, and Beyster enlisted in the U.S. Navy. The Navy sent him to college at the University of Michigan, where he enrolled in the Navy’s V12 Officer Training Program. He was commissioned as an ensign and eventually served on a destroyer based in Norfolk, Va.
The Physicist
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Dr. Beyster enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he enrolled in the Navy’s V12 Officer Training Program. He was commissioned as an ensign and served on a destroyer based in Norfolk, Va. |
After leaving the service, Beyster returned to the University of Michigan, earning a B.S.E. in 1945, a master’s degree in physics in 1947, and a doctorate in physics in 1950. His outstanding career as a nuclear physicist began as a scientist at Westinghouse, working on its nuclear submarine program. He left Westinghouse to work as a research physicist at the Los Alamos National Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico.
By 1957, he was chairman of General Atomics’s Accelerator Physics Department. As chairman, he established and managed a traveling-wave linear accelerator facility used for research on neutron thermalization, essential to nuclear reactor operations.
In 1967, Gulf Oil acquired San Diego-based General Atomics and the focus moved away from applied physics research. Beyster left the company in 1968.
“J. Robert Beyster has built one hell of a company.”
The Entrepreneur
When he left General Atomic at age 45 with a wife and three kids to start his own company, Dr. Beyster admitted he had no grandiose plan. "It was just supposed to be a good place where I could work and maybe a few people could join me," he said.
When Dr. Beyster retired in 2004, the company had annual revenues of $6.7 billion and more than 43,000 employees.
But it wasn’t easy. During its first year, SAI experienced the financial hardships common to many startups. Dr. Beyster had invested nearly everything he owned. Liens were placed on his and other employees' homes to secure loans. The company experienced cash-flow problems. “We always paid everyone’s salary, although mine was deferred for a few months,” Dr. Beyster recalled.
SAI weathered the storm and, after the first year, had brought in $243,000 in revenues.
“After a year, a surprising thing happened,” Dr. Beyster said. “We made a profit. I knew something must be wrong. We had a rather small board, and one of the board members said, ‘You know, Bob, you’d better get some help because you don’t know what you’re doing.’”
As the number of contracts grew, SAI’s performance spoke for itself. More contracts began coming in and the company’s revenues went from $243,000 the first year to $1.2 million at the end of the second year. By its 10th year, the company passed the $100 million mark.
It began with Beyster and a small group of like-minded scientists working out of very modest offices next to a ballet studio in La Jolla, Calif. Dedicated to solving complex problems of concern to the nation, their first substantial contract was with the Defense Nuclear Agency, helping to analyze nuclear weapon effects. The scientists and engineers not only worked on contracts and interfaced with customers, they also took on the challenge of doing the marketing.
The company was renamed Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) as it expanded broadly into national security programs, non-nuclear energy, healthcare systems, environmental business, information technologies, high-technology products, and transportation.
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Dr. Beyster was featured on the cover of the Dec. 1, 1997, issue of Forbes magazine. |
“Thirty-five years ago I was the manager of a self-supporting government contract research organization at another company. What I observed was that the government was not always getting the best technical support from private contractors on its national security projects,” Beyster said. “I found this to be unacceptable because our country needed the best help it could get in the national security area. So, providing quality work on national security problems at a fair price was the major motivation behind the founding of SAIC in 1969. I believe we have succeeded in this.”
An avid sailor, Dr. Beyster was active in support of the International America’s Cup Class sailboat races for many years. As a result of his efforts, SAIC contributed scientific talent and technology – much of it derived from the company’s work for the U.S. Navy – to U.S. syndicates that were either challenging or defending the America’s Cup over the last two decades.
At the peak of his remarkable career, Dr. Beyster was featured on the cover of the Dec. 1, 1997, issue of Forbes magazine, which said, “J. Robert Beyster has built one hell of a company.”
Sharing the success from the start, it was decided that the employees would own the company, and ownership would be based on a person’s contribution to the company. “Employee-ownership” became the byword. As the first year ended, Beyster’s initial ownership stake of 100 percent had dropped to about 10 percent. And the byword had become employee buy-in, a driving force in the company’s continued success. The first, difficult year ended on a high note. Not only were employees working on complex scientific problems in a company they considered their own, but SAI had made a profit, and a long history of growth began. The first year of operation, SAI had 20 employees and revenues of $243,000. Beyster was the company’s chief executive officer until November 2003. Fiscal year 2004 ended with revenues of $6.7 billion and more than 43,000 employees, making it the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States. Beyster served as SAIC chairman of the board until retiring from SAIC in July 2004.
“I had a very simple vision for the company in 1969. I wanted it to establish a place where we could work for our customers and do a good job, focus on the work, keep the costs down, and not be bothered by unnecessary bureaucracy and other considerations that made it hard to do research work. We happened to pick the right time to get going. A lot of good people were interested in finding such a place. Growing a large company was not in my head. I promised my wife it wouldn’t get over four people. Of course that changed pretty quickly."
Non-stop Achievement
In 2004, J. Robert Beyster, Ph.D., retired as SAIC’s chairman. The board honored his 35 years of visionary leadership with donations in his name to both the Beyster Institute and the Foundation for Enterprise Development.
But retirement wasn't all boating and blogging for Beyster. In 2007, he co-authored "The SAIC Solution: How We Built An $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company", offering an inside look at one of the most successful research and technology companies in the world.
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Dr. Beyster with his wife, Betty, and three children, Mark, Jim, and Mary Ann |
Beyster founded two nonprofit organizations dedicated to promoting employee ownership and entrepreneurship. The Foundation for Enterprise Development, founded in 1986, launched the Beyster Institute in 2004. Through a Foundation for Enterprise Development grant, the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations awards J. Robert Beyster Fellowships to outstanding Ph.D. candidates or postdoctoral scholars in many fields who are studying employee ownership and related ideas. The Beyster Institute for Entrepreneurial Employee Ownership promotes global entrepreneurship, employee ownership, and economic development through consulting, training, and international projects. It has been incorporated into the University of California, San Diego, Rady School of Management.
Beyster served as a fellow of the American Nuclear Society, chairman of its Reactor Physics Division and Shielding Division and fellow of the American Physical Society.
He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Group to the Director, Strategic Target Planning Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the National Academy of Engineering. He also was chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the University of California San Diego Foundation.
Beyster received many prestigious awards for leadership, service to community, and lifetime achievement. In April 2012, University of Michigan’s computer science engineering building was renamed to honor Beyster and his wife Betty. They married in 1955 and had three children. The building was rededicated as the Bob and Betty Beyster Building.
In 2008, Dr. Beyster was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, a unique honor acknowledging individuals who succeed through hard work and perseverance.
In 2013, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) recognized the Beyster family’s generous donations and long-time support for its genomic research, especially in ocean waters. JCVI’s sustainable laboratory, on the University of California, San Diego campus in La Jolla, features the Bob and Betty Beyster Conference Room and a Betty Beyster Terrace.
Awards & Honors
As the result of his professional and business success, Dr. Beyster received an abundance of awards and recognition. Among his many honors:
A fellow of the American Nuclear Society, Dr. Beyster served as chairman of its Reactor Physics Division and Shielding Division. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group to the Director, Strategic Target Planning Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He also served as chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the University of California San Diego Foundation.
Dr. Beyster guides a virtual tour of the SAIC exhibit near San Diego. |
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency designated Dr. Beyster an honorary program manager for his distinguished contributions to the agency over his career.
He received the Engineering Manager of the Year Award in 2000 from the American Society of Engineering Management, the 2001 Spirit of San Diego Award from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Ernst & Young in 2003, and the “Supporter of Entrepreneurialism” award from Arthur Young and Venture magazine — at their Entrepreneur of the Year awards ceremony — for his efforts to support and promote entrepreneurship.
In 2006, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation recognized Dr. Beyster with the Herb Klein Civic Leadership Award for his outstanding leadership in addressing regional challenges through collaboration with public, private, and civic partners.
Dr. Beyster received a lifetime achievement award from the University of California, San Diego’s CONNECT program for providing 25 years of outstanding service to the community. CONNECT also inducted Dr. Beyster into its Entrepreneur Hall of Fame for his professional and personal contributions to San Diego’s thriving technology community.
Dr. Beyster wrote or co-authored approximately 60 publications and reports, as well as his 2007 book, "The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company." In this book, Dr. Beyster provides an inside look at how SAIC became one of the most successful research and technology companies in the world.
What They're Saying
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Dr. Beyster visits with John Jumper, Chairman, Leidos Board of Directors |
"We are incredibly saddened by the loss of Dr. Beyster. In 1969 he was an accomplished physicist who founded SAIC, now Leidos, etching his scientific background into a company that would be driven by innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the past forty years his legacy has inspired the thousands of employees who followed his footsteps and influenced an industry that touches on all facets of American life. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family."
—Roger Krone, Leidos CEO
“He touched so many lives and gave to others selflessly. We all want to make a mark on the world, and my father — Dr. J. Robert Beyster — really did.”
—Mary Ann Beyster, Daughter
“As founder of SAIC, Dr. Beyster personified the American dream through his achievements as an entrepreneur and great visionary. The employee-ownership philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit Dr. Beyster established at SAIC were key factors in the steady growth and early success of the company. What you have to respect is Dr. Beyster’s passion for the business. This company was his child. He nurtured it through enormous success. He dedicated himself to the success of the company and employees. Those things served SAIC extremely well. It’s that dedication — the scientist’s attention to detail — and his personal love of this business he started that you just absolutely have to admire.”
—John Jumper, Chairman, Leidos Board of Directors
“Dr. J. Robert Beyster was a brilliant scientist and an equally brilliant businessman. Bob, as he was known to the tens of thousands of his employees and colleagues, was a visionary who saw the promise of the internet and the information technology revolution when most were still skeptics. He was a plank owner of the companies that pioneered IT for the government. His business model was based on employee ownership and entrepreneurship. I was privileged to work at SAIC under his leadership and know firsthand of his total dedication to his employees and his customers. NDIA recognized his leadership with our highest award in 2004 and his legacy lives on in his books, numerous writings, the Foundation for Enterprise Development (FED), and the dozens and dozens of companies started by employees mentored by Dr. Beyster. Our national security is stronger because of his contributions as a scientist and a businessman.”
—MajGen (Ret.) Arnold L. Punaro, Chairman, National Defense Industrial Association
Special condolences to Dr. Beyster’s family, friends, peers, and all who were part of his amazing journey.
Published December 22, 2014
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