Senior Advisor
Blackstone

Leanne Caret is a veteran CEO, Fortune 100 director, and expert on building high-performing organizations and transforming industries via technology. The first woman to head one of Boeing’s three global business units, Caret most recently served as President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. Highly strategic, decisive, and collaborative, Caret is an extraordinary team builder and steady C-suite counselor.

Caret is currently a Senior Advisor to Blackstone. She is a Director on the boards of Deere & Company, where she serves as Audit Chair, and RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies). She was President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS) for six years until her retirement in 2022. Leading that global business unit, Caret oversaw 30,000 employees across four continents and drove significant growth in both revenue and profits amidst tumultuous market conditions.

Caret previously served as President of Boeing Defense Global Services and Support. In that leadership role, a new worldwide strategy was developed allowing for creation of a single service organization to provide streamlined maintenance, modification, field support, and parts distribution to customers across Boeing’s broad base of businesses. Prior to leading Global Services and Support, Caret served as Chief Financial Officer of BDS. Over her 34-year career at Boeing, she rose rapidly through finance and operations and general management, working with all parts of the company around the world.

A champion of STEM education committed to advancing women in technology, Caret serves on the boards of FIRST Robotics, Kansas State University Foundation, and USO Inc. She is on the advisory boards of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute and Wichita State National Advisory Council. She is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Born in Cocoa Beach, Florida, near the Kennedy Space Center, Caret grew up inspired by a mother and father who met on the Saturn 5 Apollo program. Caret earned a BS in Business Administration from Kansas State University and an MBA from Wichita State University.