Jack J. Pelton is the Chairman of the Board and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...

(EAA), and the former CEO of the

Cessna Aircraft Company Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

, a subsidiary of

Textron Inc Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

(and now a brand of

Textron Aviation Textron Aviation Inc. is the general aviation business unit of the conglomerate Textron that was formed in March 2014 following the acquisition of Beech Holdings which included the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft businesses. The new business uni ...

). Before becoming Cessna's CEO in 2004, Pelton was its Senior Vice President of Engineering. Prior to joining Textron in 2000, he was Senior Vice President of Engineering and Programs at

Fairchild Dornier Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in ...

, and previous to this, worked at

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...

for over two decades. Jack Pelton grew up in an aviation family in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. His father flew in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II and was an early member in the local EAA chapter in Riverside. His mother was also a pilot. Soon after Pelton was named CEO of Cessna, it was revealed in 2004 that his resume included references to education received from

Hamilton University Hamilton University was an unaccredited institution based in Evanston, Wyoming. According to the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, it was first established in Hawaii as American State University.

, which ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' discovered was a

diploma mill A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fa ...

. Neither his undergraduate or graduate degrees in Aerospace Engineering were earned from an accredited school. Temporarily embarrassed by the revelation, Textron released a statement proclaiming that Pelton was chosen for his 30-year-long career in leadership and not for his faked diplomas. Pelton testified in favor of a property tax increase to build an aviation training facility that would benefit Cessna at an August 9, 2006 Sedgwick County Commission meeting. At a December 12, 2006 meeting of the Wichita City Council, Cessna applied for

industrial revenue bonds A revenue bond is a special type of municipal bond distinguished by its guarantee of repayment solely from revenues generated by a specified revenue-generating entity associated with the purpose of the bonds, rather than from a tax. Unlike general ...

that include an exemption from paying property tax on property purchased with IRB proceeds. In March 2008,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Governor

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

appointed Pelton to lead the Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group. On May 2, 2011, Textron announced that Pelton retired from Cessna as its chairman, president and CEO "effective immediately". The aviation news media noted Pelton's hasty retirement. ''AvWeb'' editor-in-chief Russ Niles questioned "who retires 'effective immediately' at age 52 on a Monday morning when the boss is in town?" and speculated that it was related to a possible demand from Textron for cuts to Cessna after a first-quarter 2011 loss of US $38 million. On October 22, 2012, Pelton became Chairman of the Board of EAA and its annual convention,

AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

. This marked the first time in the EAA's history that a Chairman was elected from outside the organization's founding Poberezny family (

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and

Tom Poberezny Thomas Paul Poberezny (October 3, 1946 – July 25, 2022) was an American aerobatic world champion, as well as chairman of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In and Convention (now named AirVenture) from 1977 to 2011 and pr ...

). By the end of 2012, Pelton was also managing director of Aviation Alliance, a partnership of ten individuals and companies that intends to sell remanufacturered

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

-powered

Cessna 421 The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411. Development The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 196 ...

s under the name

Aviation Alliance Excalibur The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411. Development The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 19 ...

. On November 9, 2015, Pelton was named CEO of the Experimental Aircraft Association. The CEO position at EAA had been vacant since November 2012. He has served on past boards such as the

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

, the

National Business Aircraft Association The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization based in Washington, DC, United States. NBAA’s mission, according to the non-profit data and transparency organization GuideStar, is: “to foster an en ...

(NBAA), and the

General Aviation Manufacturers Association The General Aviation Manufacturer's Association (GAMA) is the industry trade association representing general aviation (non-military & non-airliner) aircraft manufacturers and related enterprises, chiefly in the United States.General Aviation Manufa ...

(GAMA), acting as its chairman in 2006. Pelton was given the 2008 EAA Freedom of Flight Award and is an honoree of the

Living Legends of Aviation The Living Legends of Aviation is an award honoring achievements in the aerospace industry, bestowed by the 130 current title holders and owned and produced by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit 501(c)(3). The Living Legends have all made ...

. In 2017, he received the

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

(NAA)’s Distinguished Statesman of Aviation Award and was inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame.Kansas Aviation Museum - Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame Inductees
Retrieved 5 October 2022.

References

External links

Jack Pelton biography from the EAA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelton, Jack J. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American aerospace businesspeople American chief executives of manufacturing companies Businesspeople from Kansas Cessna Experimental Aircraft Association People from Riverside, California People from Wichita, Kansas People using unaccredited degrees