Spy Capitalism Itek And The Cia [Paperback]

What happens when the world of venture capital collides with the world of espionage? To find the answer, Jonathan E. Lewis takes us inside the executive suite at Itek Corporation during the Cold War years from 1957 to 1965. Itek was manufacturing the worlds most sophisticated satellite reconnaissance cameras, and the information these cameras provided about Soviet missiles and military activity was critical to U.S. security. So was Itek. This intriguing book examines in unprecedented detail the challenges Itek faced not only as a contractor for the most important national security program of the timethe CIAs Project CORONA spy satellitebut also as a start-up company competing with established industrial giants.

In telling the story of Itek Corporation, Lewis fills important gaps in the history of American intelligence, business history, and management studies. In addition, he addresses a variety of important themes such as the compatibility of secrecy and capitalism, the struggle between profits and patriotism, and the workings of power and connections in America. Lewis explores how Itek executives contended with myriad business problems that were compounded by the need to raise capital without revealing the complete truth about the companys highly secret business. He also presents for the first time information about Laurance Rockefellers venture capital operations and his role in financing Itek, based on the financiers private Itek papers. The book is both a remarkable case study of a company at the heart of the American intelligence-industrial complex during the Cold War and a thought-provoking examination of the impact of the CIA on the capitalist system it was created to defend.

Jonathan E. Lewisis a portfolio manager at OFFITBANK and cochairman of the intelligence capabilities action group at Business Executives for National Security (BENS). He recently served as a member of the BENS Independent Panel on lãÂ