John Arthur "Jack" Shaw (July 1, 1939 – April 5, 2020) was an American former civil servant who held positions under several presidents: Senior Staff under Richard Nixon, White House liaison under Gerald Ford, and in the State Department under Ronald Reagan. Additionally, President George H. W. Bush gave him a recess appointment as Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
His last presidential appointment was as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for International Technology Security, under George W. Bush. Shaw was accused of improper advocacy for private contracts, which led to his dismissal, but a subsequent FBI investigation resulted in no charges against him.
Shaw returned to the private sector and was President and CEO of the American Overseas Clinics Corporation.
Early life, education, and professorships
Shaw was born into a prominent Philadelphia political family, and was raised in the suburbs by an aunt and uncle due to the early death of his parents. Shaw graduated from Kent School in Connecticut in 1957. He then received a B.A. from Williams College in 1962, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, as well as a Masters (1967), and Ph.D. (1976) from Cambridge University, where he was a Fellow of Magdalene College. He has taught international security studies at Cambridge University, Williams College, Georgetown University, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.
During his professorship at Williams College, he invested his own time and money to found the Williams College men's rowing team, despite some resistance from the Williams faculty and administration at the time. In recognition of Shaw's perseverance, one of the shells in the John A. Shaw Boathouse is named Pride and Persistence. Additionally, a Silver Goblet bearing his name is given out each year to a male rower who epitomizes his will to keep fighting in the face of adversity. Thanks to Shaw's efforts in the early 1970s Williams has become a minor US rowing power, with the men winning successive championships and the women winning seven successive NCAA Division III Rowing Championships.
Career from 1975 to 2000
Shaw has held a number of positions in the executive branch of the U.S. Government, in business, and at think tanks.
Ford administration and then the private sector
In 1975 under President Ford, Shaw was confirmed by the Senate as Inspector General of Foreign Assistance and Assistant Secretary of State, responsible for the oversight of all U.S. Foreign Military Sales, U.S. AID, the Peace Corps, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Export-Import Bank.
From 1978-80, Shaw returned to the private sector as a Vice President of Booz Allen & Hamilton International, overseeing the development, organization and management of two new industrial cities, Jubail and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia. These cities constituted the largest development project in the world. He worked for several management consulting companies, the St. Phalle International Group and the Cambridge Consulting Group, overseeing international business development projects. From 1980-84 he was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, specializing in Middle Eastern and International Business Affairs. While there, he co-authored a favorably reviewed study titled Saudi Arabian Modernization: The Impact of Change on Stability. Shaw was Vice President for Washington Operations for the Hudson Institute, then overseeing the Center for Naval Analyses, from 1985-86.
Reagan and G.H.W. Bush administrations
From 1986-88 under President Reagan he served as senior advisor to the Administrator of Agency for International Development. From 1989-91 he served as Associate Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Commerce, and oversaw a major effort to reform the Bureau of Export Administration.
On September 13, 1991 he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, replacing Quincy Mellon Crosby. Shaw received a recess appointment when the revised Export Administration Act was vetoed.
With the arrival of the Clinton Administration, Shaw returned to the private sector. During this time he worked as CEO of American Overseas Clinics Corporation (AOCC).
Career during and after G.W. Bush administration
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appointed Shaw in October 2001 to head the new Office of International Technology Security. In that capacity, he became responsible for controlling export of sensitive technology.