The story of a remarkable man

The story of a remarkable man. Curt Ward, who was Mr. Allder’s deputy for two years, said that he had a remarkable ability to organize and keep track of multiple things simultaneously while dealing with complicated budgets and contracts. He also had a photographic memory and never had to write anything down, family members and Ward said.

William R. Allder, Jr. spent 33 years as a distinguished visionary and leader in the geospatial intelligence domain. As director of NGA’s Strategic Transformation Office, he led the transformation of the industry from a paper-based, people-intensive production environment into a digital industry utilizing the best commercial government capabilities and, as a technology manager, developed large, complex systems worldwide.

Prior to coming to NGA, Allder was a well respected leader at the National Oceanic Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as the Defense Mapping Agency and Central Imagery Office – both NGA predecessor agencies. He played an integral role in standing up the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, which was renamed NGA in 2003.