Steve Parker

Executive Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing

Last Reviewed: October 3, 2026

Executive Summary

Steve Parker has led Boeing Defense, Space & Security as president and chief executive since July 2025, after running it on an interim basis from September 2024. The business designs, builds and delivers military aircraft, weapons, satellites and space systems for defense, government and intelligence customers. A Boeing employee since 1988, he spent his career in defense manufacturing and program management: running the F-15 and T-X trainer programs, the Vertical Lift division that builds the Apache and Chinook helicopters, and the Bombers & Fighters division, before becoming the unit’s chief operating officer. Much of his early career was spent in Australia, including as chief operating officer of Boeing Defence Australia.

Career Highlights

• Executive Vice President; President and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, since July 2025.
• Interim President and CEO of BDS, September 2024 to June 2025.
• Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of BDS, 2022 to 2025.
• Vice President and General Manager of Bombers & Fighters, 2021 to 2022, and of Vertical Lift, 2019 to 2021.

Professional Journey

Parker earned a master’s degree in project management at Queensland University of Technology and is a Certified Practicing Project Director. He joined Boeing in 1988, and his early roles included chief operating officer of Boeing Defence Australia, the company’s largest subsidiary outside the United States, leading Australia’s rapid acquisition of C-17 aircraft and supporting the E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning program.

He was vice president and general manager of the former Network and Space Systems division and then led programs as vice president and program manager, including the F-15 from 2016 to 2018 and the T-X trainer competition from 2018 to 2019. From November 2019 he ran the Vertical Lift division, which builds the AH-64 Apache, H-47 Chinook and MH-139A Grey Wolf and the V-22 Osprey with a partner.

From March 2021 he led the Bombers & Fighters division, covering aircraft from the F/A-18 and F-15EX to the B-52, and was senior executive for more than 15,000 employees at the St. Louis site. In October 2022 he became chief operating officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and in September 2024 its interim president and chief executive.

Boeing made the appointment permanent in July 2025. He serves on the board of the Association of the United States Army and the executive committee of the Chair’s Council at Greater St. Louis Inc., and is a member of the Air Force Association and the Army Aviation Association of America. Boeing builds commercial airplanes and defense, space and security systems and provides aerospace services, and employs about 182,000 people, according to the company.

Education

Queensland University of Technology

Master’s degree, Project Management