He was somewhat vindicated when Northrop upset heavily favored Boeing Co. last year for the $35-billion aerial refueling tanker contract. But that award was overturned and the Air Force has been forced to hold another competition.
Northrop's growth has come while other defense contractors have been embroiled in controversy and scandals. The company, for the most part, seems to have avoided major ethical breaches. Still, ethical conduct has been one of Sugar's main management concerns. Senior managers are required to take ethics classes once a year.
Steven Sample, president of USC, where Sugar has been a trustee since 2003, said the Bruin alumnus is highly respected even among die-hard Trojans.
"I really like the person and I think he has very high ethical standards," Sample said. "You always run the risk of being embarrassed by someone who goes off in an unethical direction. I can't imagine Ron Sugar doing that."
A registered Republican, Sugar has given more in campaign contributions to Democrats, reflecting the cold calculation that defense spending decisions can depend on politicians on both sides. His strongest trait has been a personable one-on-one management style that he has tried to convey to his managers, according to former and current employees.
In a recent annual gathering of several hundred Northrop managers, Sugar walked into the ballroom and without explanation began playing the piano. After playing a classical piece for about five minutes, he got up and began talking about how he enjoyed playing the piano and shared other personal details.
"It was very leveling," said Barry Z. Pozner, dean of the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University and co-author of "A Leader's Legacy," a management book that cites Sugar. "People would later come up to him and have a personal conversation. It was another way to get connected with people."
The point of the exercise, Sugar would say, "is that if people were going to follow you, they need to know more about you than the fact that you are their boss. They need to know your hopes, dreams, talents and expectations."
Leadership, Sugar said, "is personal."
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peter.pae@latimes.com
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A Northrop chronology
Northrop Grumman Corp., headquartered in Century City, is a conglomeration of nearly two dozen defense and aerospace companies, including TRW, Litton and Westinghouse -- most of them acquired in the last two decades.
