About the Rapp Leadership Group
Our Mission
At the Rapp Leadership Group, our mission is to empower leaders and organizations through unparalleled insights and strategies rooted in decades of military excellence. Founded by a retired two-star general with over thirty years of active duty Army service, we are committed to fostering leadership excellence, strategic thinking, and resilient team dynamics.
We aim to transform today’s leaders by imparting the timeless principles of service, integrity, and decisive action, ensuring they are equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern world. Through innovative and immersive learning experiences, such as our signature Battlefield Staff Rides, we strive to build leaders who inspire, motivate, and achieve extraordinary results.
We are dedicated to making a lasting impact by cultivating a new generation of leaders who are not only effective and strategic but also deeply committed to the values of service and excellence.
Our Team
Meet Bill Rapp, PhD, Retired Army Major General
Major General (Retired) Bill Rapp served four years as a resident lecturer in the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School and consults internationally on leadership and organizational success. He joined the faculty at HKS from 2017-21 after serving more than 33 years as an active duty Army officer including nine years as a general officer.
His passion is leader development, and he teaches leadership to executives in courses at Harvard Kennedy School, Wharton Business School (UPenn), and the general officer education program run by the US Army War College. He consults with several companies and organizations on leadership, ethics, and leader development.
During his career, Bill Rapp served over five years in Germany, a year in Japan, and nearly four years combined in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He commanded an airborne sapper company in the First Gulf War, an engineer brigade in Iraq in 2005-6, and was Deputy Commander (Support) for US Forces in Afghanistan in 2011-12. During the Surge in Iraq, he served alongside General Petraeus for a year in Baghdad. He was the Army’s senior liaison to the U.S. Congress, the Commandant of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and most recently served as the Commandant of the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Among his awards, Major General Rapp has earned two Distinguished Service Medals and two Bronze Stars. He graduated first in his class at Ranger School, Jumpmaster School, and the Infantry Officer Advanced Course. He is a Master Parachutist and holds the Air Assault and Combat Action Badges.
A graduate of West Point in 1984, Bill earned a Masters in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College and a Masters and PhD in Political Science from Stanford University.
His book on leadership - Accomplishing the Impossible - was published in October 2021.