Joseph B. Anderson Jr.'s business career includes managing automotive operations, acquiring companies and selling businesses to the executives who helped run them. A 2017 Black Enterprise interview identifies him as African American and describes his work at TAG Holdings in Michigan.
Anderson was born in Topeka, Kansas, and graduated from West Point in 1965. He served thirteen years in the Army, including two tours in Vietnam, and taught in West Point's Department of Social Sciences. He and the platoon he commanded became the subjects of the documentary *The Anderson Platoon*. Later military work included a White House Fellowship and service as an assistant to Commerce Secretary Juanita Kreps.
At General Motors, Anderson began in the Pontiac Motor Division. He became a plant manager and then took larger manufacturing assignments, ending as general director of the Body Hardware Business Unit after thirteen years at GM.
After leaving GM, he became president and chief executive of Composite Energy Management Systems. He later acquired a controlling stake in Chivas Products, which manufactured automotive interior trim and lighting assemblies.
Anderson founded TAG Holdings in 2001. Its company history describes a group built through acquisitions and joint ventures in manufacturing and related services, serving industries including automotive, aerospace, defense and heavy equipment.
In his 2017 interview, Anderson described the practical work of organizing employees, materials and sales, and the sales of companies to managers who had helped run them, including three businesses sold to Billy Vickers.
His tie to West Point continued. In its announcement of his 2016 Distinguished Graduate Award, the alumni association described his volunteer service and advisory work on diversity at the academy.
