Our speaker today is retired Captain Alec Fraser, a career veteran of the United States Navy who was captain of two guided missile ships. One of those ships, the USS Cape St. George, won the Arizona Memorial Award for being the most combat ready surface ship in either the Atlantic or Pacific fleets. The Cape St. George had the firepower equal to an entire task force in World War II.

He started his naval career as a midshipman, graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1972. For the next 24 years he was assigned to cruisers and destroyers in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean, and the Persian Gulf. His ships had the capability of firing surface to air missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, had crews of up to 500 sailors, carried two helicopters, and were powered by gas turbine engines.

In 1996 he retired from the Navy and joined Turner Broadcasting as the President of its Global Properties Division. This 500 person division was responsible for 22 global sales and broadcast centers around the globe, including what we have in Atlanta. While at Turner he was also an on-air military analyst for CNN, and was a guest on the Larry King show.

He has been an active member in Atlanta area communities. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Riverside Military Academy, President of the Atlanta Rotary Club, Vice-Chairman of Central Atlanta Progress, a member of the Atlanta Police Foundation, and an elder in the Peachtree Presbyterian Church.

He has just published a book entitled: Damn the Torpedoes! Applying the Navy’s Leadership Principles to Business. Through personal stories and historical examples, the book takes the leadership principles Captain Fraser learned as a ship captain and shows how they can be applied to leadership positions in business, at home, or in any organization.