Elam ’76 Focusing on the Next Phase of his Life

Archie Elam is on his third career transition. His two-decade Army career included acting as head of operations for the 18th Airborne Corps 24th Infantry Division in the first war against Iraq. The Army sent him to get an M.B.A. at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, a degree that started his private sector career in 1996. He was a manager at General Electric, United Technologies, Accenture and elsewhere, mostly focused on Six Sigma, a collaborative program for improving company performance by cutting out waste, and running customer relations management systems and overseeing other large-scale operations. His next act? Working at a nonprofit organization. Mr. Elam recently graduated from Encore! Hartford, a four-month training program for corporate professionals over age 50 looking for a career in the nonprofit sector, public agencies and government. “The stuff you volunteer for, you care about, you do for free, and then one day you realize you can get paid to do something you care about,” he said. “How cool is that!” Read More