Vance D. Coffman (born April 3, 1944) was the former chairman of the board and

chief executive officer 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 especial ...

Lockheed Martin Corporation The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is ...

. He has additionally served on the board of directors for 3M, John Deere, and

Amgen Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was established in T ...

Early life and education

Coffman was born April 3, 1944 in

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are conn ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, a very small town. His father was a farmer and grew soybeans, grain and corn. In 1949, the family moved to Winthrop, Iowa, where he attended East Buchanan High School. He is a 1967 B.S. graduate in Aerospace Engineering of

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

(ISU). Coffman had three brothers, all of which studied at ISU within the engineering and science departments. Coffman has Master's and Doctorate graduate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.

Work

In 1967, Coffman joined Lockheed Corporation's Space Systems Division, working on the development of space programs and data processing systems for the corporation. By 1988 he was president of the Space Systems Division. He directed the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...

project for Lockheed. By 1998 he was the chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, until he retired as CEO in 2004, followed by a retirement as chairman in 2005 after 38 years of service. Starting in 2002, Coffman served as a member of the 3M company's Board of Directors, and by 2006 he was elected as a Lead Director of the Board of Directors. In 2004, Coffman was elected to the Board of Directors for John Deere. In 2007, the biotechnology company Amgen elected Coffman to the Board of Directors.

Awards and honorary degrees

In 1999, Coffman was awarded from his alma mater Iowa State University the Distinguished Achievement Citation, followed by a 2006 awarded honorary doctorate of science for his work in technical and managerial leadership resulting in technological achievements and the achievement of American national security goals. He is the Endowed Faculty Chair in aerospace engineering department within the College of Engineering at Iowa State University. The first endowed "Vance D. Coffman Faculty Chair" in the aerospace engineering department at ISU was Dr. Bong Wie in 2007. Coffman received an honorary doctorate of law degree in 2000 from the George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

. And an Honorary Doctor of Aerospace Engineering from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University.

References

External links

Vance D. Coffman biography
in the Reference for Business website
Vance D. Coffman biography
from the John Deere Board of Directors website American technology chief executives Iowa State University alumni Stanford University alumni Living people 1944 births Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering {{US-CEO-stub