Faculty

William Rapp, PhD, MSS, MA

Major General (Retired, U.S. Army)
U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1984
Areas of Expertise

Leader development, change management, strategic planning, organizational alignment and assessments

Experience

Bill is both an experienced strategic leader and developer of other leaders. He taught for four years at Harvard Kennedy School, where he ran the leader development program for active-duty military and intelligence fellows and directed the top-level executive education program for senior executives. He now consults with several Fortune 500 companies and teaches on leadership effectiveness, decision-making, visioning, change management and using history to inform leadership at Wharton, Northeastern, and Harvard.  As the Commandant (president) of the Army War College, he designed and ran the Army’s strategic leadership program for one to three-star generals, while leading the college in its mission to help senior officers and civilians make the transition from operational to strategic leadership. As the Commandant of Cadets at West Point, he led the leadership and character development programs for the 4400 cadets. 

In nearly four years in combat, Bill led an engineer company in the first Gulf War, commanded a 3000-soldier brigade in the Iraq War, served as General Petraeus’ personal assistant during the Iraq Surge, and commanded over 17,000 troops supplying all resource needs of the entire U.S. and international force in Afghanistan in 2011-12. He also served as the Army’s senior liaison to the U.S. Congress.  Bill has significant personal history as a team builder and a well-known professional reputation for developing ethical, courageous, and creative leaders.

Education
  • PhD, Political Science, Stanford University
  • MSS, U.S. Army War College
  • MA, Political Science, Stanford University
  • BS, Civil Engineering, U.S. Military Academy at West Point
Publications/Awards
  • Military awards and decorations including two Defense Service Medals, two Bronze Star Medals, Master Parachutist Badge and Ranger tab. His first book on leadership was published in October 2021, Accomplishing the Impossible- Leadership that Launched Revolutionary Change. Bill is now working on a book on Sioux and Cheyenne leadership at the battle of the Little Big Horn that focuses on creating alignment and collective action among disparate groups where the leader must rely on inluence alone. He has published chapters and articles on leadership, civil-military relations, increasing effective voice within organizations, and on U.S. – Japan security relations.
Personal

Bill is married to a former Army nurse, Debbie, and they have three adult kids and two Portuguese Water Dogs.

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