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 corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

from September 2016 until April 2020, when United Technologies merged with

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

, at which point he became the CEO of the merged company,

RTX Corporation RTX Corporation, formerly 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 reve ...

. Hayes has announced his retirement from that position, to become effective on May 2, 2024.

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 university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

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

Krannert School of Management The Purdue University Daniels School of Business (formerly known as Krannert School of Management) is the school of business at Purdue University, a Public university, public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana. It offers instruction ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1982. He later became a CPA.

Career

After graduating, Hayes joined

Sundstrand Corporation Sundstrand Corporation was founded in 1926 as a merger of two companies started by Swedish immigrants: the Rockford Tool Company and the Rockford Milling Machine Company in Rockford, Illinois. It was known as Sundstrand Machine Tool Company until ...

, 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 Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major List of United States defense contractors, U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Fou ...

completed their merger with UTC to form

Raytheon Technologies RTX Corporation, formerly 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 reve ...

. 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 spokesperson Mao Ning announced at a press briefing that

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

has imposed sanctions on Hayes and

Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division of Boeing, the Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The division builds military Military aircraft, airplanes, Military helicopter, rotorcraft, and Missile, missil ...

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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. 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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

’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 U.S. companies. Unlike the United States Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, ...

and serves on the board of directors for

Nucor Nucor Corporation is an American company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that produces steel and related products. It is the largest steel producer in the United States and the largest recycler of scrap in North America. Nucor is the 16th- ...

References

1960s births Living people American chief executives Krannert School of Management alumni United Technologies people RTX Corporation people Proprietary technology salespersons {{US-CEO-stub