Gregory J. Hayes (born 1960/61) is an American businessman. He was the chairman and CEO of

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, ...

from September 2016 to April 2020, and is now the CEO of

Raytheon Technologies Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

Early life and education

Hayes grew up in Williamsville, New York, and was a 1978 graduate of Williamsville South High School. Hayes played football at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, while studying pre-law for a year, then transferred to the

Krannert School of Management The Krannert School of Management is the school of management at Purdue University, a public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana. It offers instruction at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. History The School of Ind ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; th ...

degree, in 1982. He later became a CPA.

Career

After graduating, Hayes joined

Sundstrand Corporation Sundstrand Corporation was founded in 1926 as a merger of the Rockford Tool Company and Rockford Milling Machine Company in Rockford, Illinois. It was known as Sundstrand Machine Tool Company until 1959 when shareholders voted to change the name ...

, which was acquired by

(UTC) in 1999. He rose through management, becoming CEO of UTC in November 2014, succeeding Louis R. Chênevert. Hayes was elected chairman in September 2016. In April 2020,

Raytheon Company The Raytheon Company was a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft unti ...

completed their merger with UTC to form

. Hayes was named CEO of the combined company, and Raytheon chairman and CEO Thomas A. Kennedy was named executive chairman. In September 2022,

Foreign Ministry of China The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...

spokesperson Mao Ning announced at a press briefing that China has imposed sanctions on Hayes and

Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division (business unit) of The Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia. It is responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. It was formerly known as Boeing Integrated Defense System ...

CEO Theodore Colbert III, in response to the U.S. arms sale to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is not immediately known what the Chinese sanctions against Hayes and Colbert would entail, and it is often mainly symbolic in nature.

Boards and affiliations

Hayes served on

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

’s American Manufacturing Council in January 2017, until resigning, in August 2017. He is a member of

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BR ...

and serves on the board of directors for

Nucor Nucor Corporation is an American producer of steel and related products based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the largest steel producer in the United States, the largest "mini-mill" steelmaker (i.e. it uses electric arc furnaces to melt s ...

References

1960s births Living people American chief executives Krannert School of Management alumni United Technologies people Raytheon Technologies people {{US-CEO-stub