Fortune 500 CEOs with military backgrounds

Jim Taiclet’s military background

Jim Taiclet served as a U.S. Air Force pilot from 1985 to 1991, logging over 5,000 flight hours in a Lockheed C-141B Starlifter.

“If anything happens, we never heard of you”

Lockheed Martin’s veteran workforce

Lockheed Martin has roughly one in five of its 120,000 employees as veterans.

Taiclet’s leadership philosophy

Taiclet says military leadership skills like responsibility and composure help him lead employees effectively.

“If you learn those skills about responsibility, leadership by example when you’re in your 20s and you can actually take those forward your whole career”

Darren Rebelez’s military service

Darren Rebelez served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point during the Gulf War.

Rebelez’s leadership approach

Rebelez emphasizes building trust through listening and giving employees resources to succeed.

“80 percent of leadership is just showing up”

Shane O’Kelly’s military background

Shane O’Kelly served as a U.S. Army infantry officer after graduating from West Point in 1990.

O’Kelly’s leadership principles

O’Kelly believes you must follow before leading and listen before talking to effectively manage teams.

“You have to be able to follow before you can lead and you have to listen before you can talk”

Jeffrey Martin’s military service

Jeffrey Martin served in the U.S. Army after graduating from West Point in 1980.

Martin’s leadership philosophy

Martin focuses on developing new leaders at every level rather than relying on titles to accomplish tasks.

“I learned that people often make the mistake of associating leadership with creating followership”