THE WORLD'S NO.1 ONLINE OPEX AND
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION EVENT SERIES

25 - 26 May, 2021 | Online | Time Zone EST

General Ann Dunwoody is the former commanding general of one of the Army’s largest commands, the U.S. Army Materiel Command. She is the first woman in U.S. military history to achieve a four-star officer rank, and U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno called her “quite simply the best logistician the Army has ever had.” She led many divisions at home and abroad and commanded at every level. She also supported the largest deployment and redeployment of U.S. forces since WWII. The author of A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four-Star General, Dunwoody shares what nearly four decades in the military taught her about effective leadership, revealing the core principles that guided her to her historic appointment.

U.S. Army Career. Dunwoody led the transformation of the Army’s logistics organizations. She was responsible for research and development, installation and contingency contracting, foreign military sales, supply chain management, and more. She also oversaw all of the depots that supported supply, maintenance, manufacturing, and ammunitions. AMC had more than 69,000 employees and presence in all 50 states and 145 countries, and Dunwoody managed a budget of $60 billion dollars and was responsible for oversight of approximately $70 billion in service contracts. She also led the Army’s global supply chain in support of Iraq and Afghanistan and contingency operations in Haiti, Pakistan, and Japan.

Among Dunwoody’s many accomplishments came several career and military firsts. In addition to becoming the first woman in U.S. military history to achieve the rank of four-star general, she was the first woman to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division in 1992, and she became Fort Bragg’s first female general officer in 2000. Dunwoody was also the first woman to command the Combined Arms Support Command. In 2005, Dunwoody became the Army’s top-ranking female when she received the promotion to lieutenant general (three stars) and became the Army’s deputy chief of staff, G-4 (logistics). She received her fourth star in 2008.

Awards and Recognition. General Dunwoody led a highly decorated career. In addition to her military honors, she was named one of New York MOVES Magazine’s “2013 Power Women” and selected to be the 2013 Grand Marshall for the Veterans Day parade in New York City. The NCAA recognized her with its highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award, and the National Conference on Citizenship gave her its Franklin Award. She was also recognized as a 2001 Distinguished Alumni for the State University of New York at Cortland and was the recipient of the 2004 National Defense Transportation Association’s DoD Distinguished Service Award and the 2007 Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) Distinguished Service Award. 

Dunwoody is currently the president of First 2 Four and serves on the board of directors for L-3 Communications, Republic Services, and Logistics Management Institute.