1. Larry A. Lawson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. (Retired)
Larry A. Lawson joined Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. in April 2013 as
President and Chief Executive Officer and retired 1 August 2016.
Spirit AeroSystems is the world’s largest Tier 1 designer and
manufacturer of metal and carbon fiber aero-structures for
commercial and military aircraft. Spirit is a global company with
15 million square feet of manufacturing and is headquartered in
Wichita, Kansas with seven other locations around the world.
Spirit manufactures seventy percent of the 737 and major
structural components for all Boeing Commercial Aircraft and
the company also produces aero-structures for Airbus, Northrop, Sikorsky, Bell, Bombardier
and Gulfstream. Spirit has approximately $7 billion in annual revenue with a current backlog of
$46 billion. Mr. Lawson led the highly acclaimed Spirit transformation, which among many
other accomplishments, resulted in a 300% increase market capitalization while making
significant investments in new technology, business and market expansion.
Before joining Spirit, Mr. Lawson served as Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin
Corporation and President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. In this role, Mr. Lawson
was responsible for leading Lockheed Martin’s military aircraft business in multiple locations
across the United States. Mr. Lawson oversaw numerous mission-critical and core aircraft
programs such as the F-35 Lightning II, the F-22 Raptor, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the C-130J
Super Hercules, the C-5M Super Galaxy, the U-2 Dragon Lady and the P-3 Orion. His
responsibilities also included the company’s world-renowned Skunk Works® organization.
As the Executive Vice President and General Manager, F-35 Lightning II program, he was
credited with recovering the program and putting it on a sustainable track while maintaining
profitability of other Lockheed Martin (LM) franchises. While serving as the Executive Vice
President and General Manager of the F-22 Raptor, the program was awarded the prestigious
Collier Trophy as the most significant accomplishment in aerospace for 2006.
Mr. Lawson began his career with McDonnell Douglas and has held numerous management
responsibilities during his career including engineering, program management and corporate
business development and strategy. He has experience in a wide array of products and
services including electronics, missiles, defense and commercial aircraft and has worked with
commercial and defense customers across the globe. He led the capture, development and
production of the JASSM cruise missile and the Advanced Infra-red Search and Track System.
The JASSM Cruise Missile Program was awarded the Department of Defense David Packard
Award.
Mr. Lawson is an M.I.T Fellow, an alumnus of the Harvard Advanced Management Program
and has engineering degrees from the University of Missouri and Lawrence Technological
University. He holds patents in advanced signal processing technology. He was named
Lockheed Martin Inventor of the Year in 1991, Manager of the Year in 1997 and 1999, and he
won the Silver Knight of Leadership award from the National Management Association in 2008.
The Father’s Day Council and the American Diabetes Association honored him as Atlanta
Father of the Year in 2007. In 2015 the American Diabetes Association honored him with the
National Volunteer Leadership Award.

2. In June 2016, his work at Spirit was recognized by Ernst and Young with the Entrepreneur of the
Year Award for the Southwest United States. He was also recognized by the State of Kansas with
the Ad Astra Award and the Wichita Chamber honored him with the Keeper of the Plains Trophy
for his accomplishments with Spirit as well as his contributions to the Community.
Until his retirement from Spirit AeroSystems, Larry served on the Aerospace Industries
Association Board of Governors, the Wichita State University President’s Council and the Board
of Trustees for Lawrence Technological University. He also served on the Air Force Association
Board of Governors and Kid’s House Charities Board of Directors.
He lives in Florida with his wife Debra and enjoys yachting, cycling, and time with his children and
grandchildren.