Gordon H. Clow
December 19, 2008

     After graduating OHHS, I attended Severn School in Severna Park, MD for one year prior to my acceptance at the U. S. Naval Academy.  Graduated USNA in 1964 with a B.S. degree Engineering.  Commissioned as Ensign, USN and ordered to flight training in Pensacola, Florida.  Also married Ann Childress in June 1964.  Completed flight training in 1965 and ordered to Navy P-3 (patrol) squadron in Patuxent River, MD.  Served with VP-8 for three years including flying missions in support of Vietnam War.  Ordered to Washington duty in 1968 as technical project manager.  Released from active duty in Oct 1969.  Affiliated with the Naval Reserve and served until 1985 until I retired as a CAPT.

     I was employed as a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch in Washington, D.C. office from late 1969 until April 1973.  Attended graduate school at American University from 1973 to 1975 and was awarded an MBA in 1975.  I joined Potomac Research (PRI) in McLean, VA and served as a project manager for government projects in data processing.  In 1979, when PRI was acquired by EDS (Ross Perot’s company), another individual and I co-founded our own competing firm, Vanguard Technologies Corporation.  The company was engaged in providing professional data processing services to the Federal Government.  At Vanguard, I held executive level responsibilities for line management, strategic and long-range planning, marketing, proposal development, budgeting and contract work.  We took the company public in May 1986 and were listed for two years on the stock exchange.  We reached a level of 1600 employees and in July 1988, Vanguard was acquired by Cincinnati Bell.  I “retired” at that point to pursue other opportunities.

     Over the past several years, I have been active in several small technical businesses, participating as both a board member and equity owner.  I  also was instrumental in the development and publication  of a book entitled “Ethics for the Junior Officer”, a compilation of actual case studies involving ethical decisions, which is presented annually as a gift from my USNA graduating class to the senior class of midshipmen. My hobbies include golf, travel, wine collecting and reading.  I have two children from my marriage to Ann Childress; Lori Clow, who has her PhD in molecular genetics and works for the U. S. Patent Office as a patent examiner and Michael Clow who works in the mortgage banking field.