Robert Beyster, founder of Science Applications International Corp. and a legend of the contracting industry and Washington business community, died Monday morning at age 90.
He died of natural causes, according to an obituary posted by his daughter, Mary Ann. She issued the following statement on his blog:
Dad passed away peacefully early this morning. The family was with him. He was wearing his favorite sailing clothes, including an America’s Cup jacket and his University of Michigan cap.
We all knew this day would come, but it’s never easy to say goodbye. Although this is a very sad time for our family, let’s celebrate the life of this remarkable man. 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.
The obituary detailed his dedication to employee corporate ownership — a business model that he founded SAIC on in 1969. His philosophy, according to the obituary, was that “those who contribute to the company should own it, and ownership should be commensurate with a person’s contribution and performance.”
It was the largest employee-owned research and engineering firm in the U.S., then went public in 2006. SAIC was split into two separate companies in fiscal 2013.
“We are incredibly saddened by the loss of Dr. Beyster,” said Roger Krone, CEO of Leidos Holdings Inc., one of the companies that emerged from the SAIC split. “He was an accomplished physicist who founded SAIC … 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.”
The company posted a tribute to him on its website.
A spokeswoman for SAIC, the information technology services company that spun off from Leidos with the split but took the company’s original name, noted that the company is proud to continue to operate under the name, saying the company is “grateful for his vision and for laying the foundation of SAIC’s values.”
I was lucky enough to interview Beyster in 2013 about the significance of leadership as an executive and a board chairman. His dedication to the company was evident. He also spoke about his decision to step aside — something he did reluctantly in 2004.
“I had some fundamental differences with certain senior members of the board who found my continued presence to be problematic because of my thirst for preserving the principles of employee ownership,” he told me. “So, reluctantly, I resigned. In hindsight, I underestimated the importance of the board in stewarding the core employee ownership values of the company once I was gone.”
