Lewis B. Campbell completed the Academic-Science program and graduated from John Handley High School in 1964. He then earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Duke University in 1968.

Campbell started his 24 year career with General Motors as a product engineer in 1968. He held various management positions with the company including General Manager of the Flint Automobile Division, Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group, and the GMC Truck Division. He was Vice President of General Motors from 1988 until 1992.

Campbell joined Textron as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1992. He was promoted to President in 1994 and was Chief Executive Officer from 1998 until his retirement in 2009.

In the mid-2000s, Textron became a $10 billion company with over 40,000 employees worldwide. Its diversified holdings included Bell Helicopter, Cessna aircraft and E-Z-Go golf carts.

While at Textron, Campbell engineered a transformation of the company including a company-wide restructuring program to increase efficiency of operations; consolidation of several manufacturing facilities; outsourcing non-core production; and careful attention to product development. Campbell applied Six Sigma principles providing a consistent approach to operational efficiency.

In addition to his work with General Motors and Textron, Lewis Campbell has served on the boards of Bristol Myers Squibb and Sensata Technologies.