ORTBERG, Robert K. (Kelly)

[File:ortberg.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Photo courtesy: Rockwell Collins]]ORTBERG, Robert K. (Kelly) (Dubuque, IA-- ). The son of Robert L. and Carol M..(nee Koelker) Ortberg, Robert received a bachelor's degree i mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa in 1982. He became an engineer with Texas Instruments in 1983 as a program manager.

Ortberg joined Rockwell Collins Inc. in 1987. He served as an Executive Vice President at Rockwell Collins Inc. from October 2006 to September 24, 2012, Chief Operating Officer of Government Systems from February 2010 to September 24, 2012. He was the President of Rockwell Collins Inc. since September 20, 2012 and served as its Chief Executive Officer since August 2013. (1) He became the Chairman of Rockwell Collins Inc. on November 11, 2015 and was Chief Executive Officer of Collins Aerospace at United Technologies Corporation created in 2018 by combining UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins. (2)

He is a member of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). He shas served on the Board of Governors for the Aerospace Industries Association, held membership on The Business Council and served as co-chairman of the board of directors of FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and the Hawkeye Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He also served on the University of Iowa Engineering Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees of the United Way of East Central Iowa. (3)

Ortberg’s choice in 2024 to assume leadership of Boeing came at a turbulent time in the company’s history. The company had pled guilty to a federal fraud charge in connection with the development of its 737 Max jetliner and two crashes that killed 346 people. The Federal Aviation Administration increased its oversight of the company after a door plug blew out mid-flight on one of its planes, raising manufacturing quality concerns.

Boeing reported a loss of more than $1.4 billion during the second quarter of 2024 because of falling revenue of the company’s commercial airplanes business and its defense unit both losing money. The defense business was facing issues with two 747s that would serve as the next Air Force One aircraft but are years behind schedule. Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which launched in early June, had NASA needing to decide whether to use SpaceX , built by another company, instead to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back from the International Space Station.. NASA’s Inspector General slammed Boeing for its “ineffective quality management and inexperienced workforce, continued cost increases and schedule delays, and the delayed establishment of a cost and schedule baseline.” Ortberg promised transparency at every step. (4)

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Source:

1. "Robert K. Ortberg," Bloomberg, Online: https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=25018923&privcapId=159230

2. Alex, Riya R. "Who is Robert ’Kelly’ Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO? Here are the Five Things to Know About Him." Online: https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/who-is-robert-kelly-ortberg-boeings-new-ceo-here-are-the-five-things-to-know-about-him-11722501235781.html

3. "Robert K. Ortberg"

4. Josephs, Leslie, “Boeing’s New Outsider CEO Ortberg Takes The Helm, This Time from the Factory Floor, CNBC, Online: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/08/new-boeing-ceo-kelly-ortberg.html, August 8, 2024