Henry Singleton: a pioneer of corporate strategic leadership and value creation

Purpose - This paper profiles the leadership and Financial Strategy principles of Dr. Henry E. Singleton, the late founder of Teledyne Corporation.Design methodology approach - The main sources of this paper are a private study prepared by Leon G. Cooperman, Chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors, Inc., who knew Dr. Singleton and who was a long-term Teledyne investor, as well as a 2007 book that was published by Teledyne's former president.Findings - The leadership and financial strategy principles of Henry Singleton have broad applicability to executives across industries and to researchers across disciplines including strategy, finance, management, and entrepreneurship.Research limitations implications - Singleton's principles, especially in the area of Financial Strategy, could be used by executives in the challenging times that likely lay ahead, and could serve as the basis for applied-based research, most particularly case studies, on entrepreneurship, growth by acquisition, capital allocation, stock buybacks, and spin-offs.Originality value - Long-time associates of Singleton believe this is the first academic analysis of his leadership and financial strategy principles.