The 2014 Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Grand Marshal
Brigadier General Pete Dawkins
A 1959 graduate of West Point, Pete served for 24 years in the U.S. Army. During his military career, he commanded a company in the 82nd Airborne Division, led a battalion in Korea, taught at West Point, was a White House Fellow, and served as Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. After serving in Korea, he commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1981.
Pete holds numerous military awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster, and three Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses. At West Point, Pete was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets, President of the Class of 1959, Captain of Army’s undefeated football team and an All-American halfback. He won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s outstanding college football player.
Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, Pete studied at Oxford University, and later received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.
In 1983, following his career in the Army, Pete joined Lehman Brothers as head of the firm's Public Finance banking business. Here he led a 3-year initiative focused on providing creative financing to meet the need to overhaul a significant portion of the physical infrastructure throughout the country.
After running in 1988 as the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey, Pete moved to Bain and Company – a Boston-based strategy consulting firm – where he became head of the U.S. consulting business. In 1991, he was recruited to become Chairman and CEO of Primerica Financial Services, where Pete assumed the high-profile role of the recently departed founder, and led the company for the next 5 years.
Following that, Pete held a series of executive positions in what became Citigroup. He served as Vice Chairman and EVP of Travelers Insurance, then Vice Chairman of the Citigroup Private Bank and, finally, Vice Chairman of Citigroup Global Wealth Management.
Pete remains active in a variety of national, community and philanthropic roles. His listing of Board service includes Iridium Satellite, LLC; Olatec Industries, LLC; Wharton Business School’s Center for Leadership and Change Management; the Intrepid Museum; the Secretary of Defense Policy Board; the Boards of Trustees of the United States Military Academy, Hampton-Sydney College, Emory University Business School, and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Time magazine identified Pete as one of the “Top 50 Leaders in the U.S.” Among his many awards for public service is the National Institute of Social Sciences Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service to Humanity, the BENS Eisenhower Award for Distinguished National Service, and The National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Gold Medal Award. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975, and West Point’s Army Sports Hall of fame in 2005. Pete was selected in the inaugural class as a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy and, in 2006, was recognized by the Horatio Alger Association by receiving its Distinguished American award.
Pete is Senior Advisor to Virtu Financial, the world’s largest Electronic Market Making firm. Pete has one adult daughter, Noël, and six grandchildren. His wife of 55 years, Judi, and son, Sean, passed away in 2017 and 2007, respectively.
Pete holds numerous military awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster, and three Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses. At West Point, Pete was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets, President of the Class of 1959, Captain of Army’s undefeated football team and an All-American halfback. He won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s outstanding college football player.
Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, Pete studied at Oxford University, and later received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.
In 1983, following his career in the Army, Pete joined Lehman Brothers as head of the firm's Public Finance banking business. Here he led a 3-year initiative focused on providing creative financing to meet the need to overhaul a significant portion of the physical infrastructure throughout the country.
After running in 1988 as the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey, Pete moved to Bain and Company – a Boston-based strategy consulting firm – where he became head of the U.S. consulting business. In 1991, he was recruited to become Chairman and CEO of Primerica Financial Services, where Pete assumed the high-profile role of the recently departed founder, and led the company for the next 5 years.
Following that, Pete held a series of executive positions in what became Citigroup. He served as Vice Chairman and EVP of Travelers Insurance, then Vice Chairman of the Citigroup Private Bank and, finally, Vice Chairman of Citigroup Global Wealth Management.
Pete remains active in a variety of national, community and philanthropic roles. His listing of Board service includes Iridium Satellite, LLC; Olatec Industries, LLC; Wharton Business School’s Center for Leadership and Change Management; the Intrepid Museum; the Secretary of Defense Policy Board; the Boards of Trustees of the United States Military Academy, Hampton-Sydney College, Emory University Business School, and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Time magazine identified Pete as one of the “Top 50 Leaders in the U.S.” Among his many awards for public service is the National Institute of Social Sciences Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service to Humanity, the BENS Eisenhower Award for Distinguished National Service, and The National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Gold Medal Award. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975, and West Point’s Army Sports Hall of fame in 2005. Pete was selected in the inaugural class as a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy and, in 2006, was recognized by the Horatio Alger Association by receiving its Distinguished American award.
Pete is Senior Advisor to Virtu Financial, the world’s largest Electronic Market Making firm. Pete has one adult daughter, Noël, and six grandchildren. His wife of 55 years, Judi, and son, Sean, passed away in 2017 and 2007, respectively.
