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Keynote Speaker

John W. Douglass, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association

John W. Douglass is president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association, which represents the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, materiel, and related components, equipment, services, and information technology.

A nationally recognized expert in systems acquisition, Mr. Douglass has extensive acquisition experience in Congress, the Defense Department, and the executive branch. He also served on the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, established by the president and Congress. The commission’s final report, issued in November 2002, laid out a vision for the future of the U.S. aerospace industry.

Abstract

In the dynamic mix of platforms and technologies that characterize the aerospace industry, no resource is more valuable than human and intellectual capital. With a booming civil aviation order book, the world’s most highly funded military, and new aspirations to return to the moon and allow humans to explore Mars, investment in the nation’s math, science, engineering and technical education is vital to maintaining U.S. leadership in these areas.

With nearly 300 member companies, the Aerospace Industries Association is a dedicated advocate for investment in America’s aerospace industry and its more than 600,000 employees. Through his leadership of AIA, Mr. Douglass has been at the forefront in recognizing key issues affecting the industry and in proposing legislative and corporate actions to strengthen the industry’s future. In his remarks, Mr. Douglass will lend his views on a number of issues – the challenges facing the aerospace industry, promoting interest in aerospace to the next generation of innovators, and the role of technology in advancing a state-of-the-art aerospace industry.