William Alan Cohen is President of the Institute of Leader Arts, a company that
teaches the arts and skills required by organizational leaders. Dr. Cohen holds a BS in
Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, in addition to an
MBA from the University of Chicago, and an MA and PhD in Executive Management
from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at CGU,
where he was Peter Drucker’s first Executive Management student. He retired from the
United States Air Force Reserve at the rank of Major General.
After his graduation from West Point, Cohen flew 174 combat missions in A-26
aircraft during the Vietnam War and received numerous awards, including the
Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Distinguished Flying Cross
with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters. Cohen has held executive positions in several major
companies, including the Sierra Engineering Company, McDonnell Douglas
Astronautics, and his current company, the Institute of Leader Arts. From 1970-1973
Cohen lived in Israel, where he flew in the Yom Kippur War, and was recognized by the
Israeli government for his contributions to the development of Israel’s first fighter jet. He
holds engineering patents in Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Cohen’s roles as an academic leader have included the presidency of two private
universities, as well as department chair and director of an institute at a public university.
He has taught at Claremont Graduate University as well as in the graduate schools of
California State University, Los Angeles, University of Southern California and Touro
University International, a fully accredited online university. His work has been
recognized and awarded in the academic field in addition to his military awards. Cohen is
the author of over 100 articles resulting from his research, and has published 53 books in
18 languages, including the bestsellers The Stuff of Heroes: The Eight Universal Laws of
Leadership and The New Art of Leader, as well as his most recent book, A Class with
Drucker: The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest Management Teacher. His new book,
Drucker on Leadership will be published on Peter Drucker’s birthday in November.