Ted Colbert

Theodore Colbert III ( ; born 1973) is a businessman, engineer, and the former Chief Executive Officer for Boeing Defense, Space & Security, a subdivision at The Boeing Company. He served in the position from March 2022 until September 2024. Previously, he served as the CEO of Boeing Global Services, and prior to that, he served as the Chief Information Officer at The Boeing Company.

He is a member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Users’ Advisory Group and won the Black Engineer of the Year Award in 2022 at the 36th Annual BEYA STEM Conference.

Biography Early life and education Colbert was born in 1973 and was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Colbert’s father worked in labor relations for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. His mother worked as a social worker. which were superseded by his interest in technology. During his childhood, he had a Commodore 64, an 8-bit home computer, that furthered his fascination with technology, and which he used for programming. His decision was partly influenced by his enjoyment of the 1980s sitcom "A Different World," which portrayed life at a fictitious historically black college. After working 11 years at Ford, he began working for Citigroup, serving as the senior vice president of Enterprise Architecture. Under his leadership, Boeing Defense hired 10,000 employees in 2022 and aims to hire another 15,000 people in 2023. Mao stated that the two would be sanctioned to protect China’s autonomy and security interests, but did not give further details on the sanctions.

Russia In November 2022, Colbert was sanctioned by the Russian Federation, along with 199 other Americans, in response to sanctions issued by the Biden Administration over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Memberships

Board memberships

Current

Board member, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Vice-chairman of the board, Aerospace Industries Association Board member, Thurgood Marshall College Fund Board member, Virginia Tech Board chair, New Leaders Board member, Association of the United States Army Board member, District of Columbia College Access Program

Other memberships

Member, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Gamma Lambda chapter Member, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Users’ Advisory Group

Awards

Fisher Center Prize for Excellence in Driving Transformation, Berkeley Haas School of Business Power 100 Honoree (2015), Ebony Transformational CIO Award Winner (2016), HMG Strategy Golden Torch Legacy Award Winner (2016), National Society of Black Engineers Bennie Leadership Award for Excellence in Business (2017), Morehouse College CIO Innovation Award (2018), Forbes Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America (2020, 2022), Savoy Magazine Most Influential Black Corporate Directors (2021), Savoy Magazine Leadership Winner (2021), Capital ORBIE Awards Black Engineer of Year Award (2022), 36th Annual BEYA STEM Conference National Academy of Engineering (2024)