Henry Singleton: A Pioneer of Corporate Strategic Leadership and Value Creation

Abstract

Purpose: This paper profiles the leadership and Financial Strategy principles of Henry E. Singleton, Ph.D., the late founder, Chairman and CEO of Teledyne Corporation.

Design/methodology/approach: The main sources of this paper are a private study prepared by Leon G. Cooperman, founder, Chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors, Inc., who knew Dr. Singleton and who was a long-term Teledyne investor, as well as a 2007 book that was published by Teledyne's former president.

Findings: The leadership and Financial Strategy principles of Henry Singleton have broad applicability to executives across industries, and to researchers across disciplines including strategy, finance, management, and entrepreneurship.

Research limitations/implications: Singleton's principles, especially in the area of Financial Strategy, could be used by executives in the challenging times that likely lay ahead, and could serve as the basis for applied-based research, most particularly case studies, on entrepreneurship, growth by acquisition, capital allocation, stock buybacks, and spin-offs.

Originality/value: Long-time associates of Dr. Singleton believe this is the first academic analysis of his leadership and Financial Strategy principles. This paper is an updated and revised version of a paper that was previously published in Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 38, No. 6, 2010, pp. 29-37.

Keywords: Corporate Strategy, Financial Management, Leadership, Entrepreneurship

JEL Classification: L20, L21, M13, M21