Robert L. Wright, O.D.
Dr. Robert L. Wright was born in Columbus, Georgia and received a Degree in Optometry from The College of Optometry at The Ohio State University.
Dimensions International, Inc. (DI) was founded in 1985 by Dr. Wright, who served as Chairman and CEO, then Chairman Emeritus and Senior Advisor until 2007 when the company was sold to Honeywell.
Starting with only three employees, Dr. Wright built DI into a world-class organization with more than 100 offices in 10 countries and over 1500 employees in 16 different time zones. A proven leader, DI provided leading-edge technology to the government and private sector in the fields of logistics support, systems engineering and integration, information management and technology, airspace management, and security engineering and operations. DI provided property management support to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in the current theater of operations, as well as executed the fielding all Army tactical vehicles worldwide. DI managed warehouses storing aviation materiel for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and also operated a National Inventory Control Point for that materiel. DI conducted organizational and direct support maintenance on a variety of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps equipment. DI worked with the Department of the Army in helping develop new logistics innovation concepts as well as policy and doctrine. In addition, DI provided depot-level repair and logistics support services for Navy/Marine Corps Aviation Support Equipment at selected CONUS sites. Sentel Corporation was acquired in 2004 and became a subsidiary of DI. Sentel is an engineering services company with core competencies in electromagnetic engineering; software engineering; test and evaluation; sensor system production, assembly, and installation; and system integration. Sentel’s key project expertise is in sensor integration; electromagnetic compatibility; mission-critical software development; and nuclear, biological, and chemical defense.
While Chairman and CEO of DI, Dr. Wright was responsible for the overall direction and leadership of the company, including establishing and presenting the company strategy, goals and objectives. He managed and directed the day-to-day operation of the company to ensure that the goals and objectives were successfully attained. This included management over the operational aspect of each department, including Human Resources, IT, Finance, and Contracts. He was responsible for, and assisted with, all aspects of business development activities. In addition, he was the liaison between the corporation and all political affiliations. His responsibilities included management of the Board of Directors.
Dr. Wright currently serves as Chairman of Flight Explorer (FE), a global flight tracking, information technology and communications solutions provider to the business aviation and traveler community. FE had its roots at DI and soon became known as the premiere real-time flight tracking and management system in the aviation industry.
Dr. Wright has over 40 years of experience in government, business, finance, and project management. He was appointed by President Reagan to the position of Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business at the Small Business Administration, where he managed the office of Minority Small Business/Capital Ownership Development (MSB/COD) to foster business ownership and to promote competitive viability of eligible socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. He managed all activities involving three principal program elements: the 8(a) program; the 7(j) program: and the Capital Ownership Development Program. He made final decisions on all firms entering, completing, and graduating from the program and frequently interacted with members of Congress and White House personnel in formulating new policies and procedures
Dr. Wright served three consecutive terms as a member of the Columbus City Council. He was directly responsible for Council District 2, with a population of approximately 50,000 people. He developed and supported legislation related to housing, recreation, employment, industrial development, and street and highway improvements.
He is a member of several Boards of Directors, and is also an active and past member of various organizations such as:
Member, AFLAC Board of Directors and Chairman, AFLAC Audit Committee
Member, Executive Leadership Cabinet, Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr. National
Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
Member, Ohio State University Alumni Advisory Council
Member, Board of Trustees Morehouse School of Medicine
Member, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, Acceleration
Advisory Committee
Member, Board of Visitors Bowie State University
Member, Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Board of Directors
Former Chairman of the Presidential Commission for the National Museum of African
American History and Culture
Former Chairman, Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee, Export-Import Bank of the
United States
Former Member, Board of Directors of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce
Former Member, Board of Directors, Northern Virginia Technology Council
Board of Trustees, Columbus State University
Board of Trustees, INOVA Health Care ServicesBoard of Directors, Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC)
Dr. Wright has been awarded with the following honors:
2007 Recipient of the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen Award
2007 Inductee into the Jr. Achievers of Columbus Georgia Hall of Fame
2004 Inductee into the Small Business Association Hall of Fame
2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award – Technology Services
Outstanding Leadership & Achievement Award; Named one of the 50 Most
Influential Minorities in Business, Minority Business & Professionals Network
Man of The Year, National Federation of Black Women Business Owners
Man of the Year, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
Resolution of Commendation, City of Columbus, Georgia
Award of Appreciation for Government Services, Links, Inc.
NAACP Achievement Award
PUSH Excellence Award
Appreciation Award, Small Business in Utah
Outstanding Services, Atlanta University, School of Business Administration
Blue Diamond Excellence Award finalist, Fairfax Chamber of Commerce
Alexandria Technology Achievement AwardMinority Small Business of the Year Award, Department of Commerce