Kent Kresa is chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman Corporation. He was Northrop's president from 1987 to 2001, chief executive officer from 1990 to 2003, and board chairman from 1990 to 2003. After retiring from Northrop Grumman, in 2009 he was chosen by the Obama administration to become chairman of the board of General Motors and led the company through bankruptcy.
Kresa currently serves on the boards of MannKind Corporation, Systems Technology and Research Corporation, NuScale, Quantum Data Systems Corporation, and several nonprofit organizations, as well as the Keck Foundation. He is associated also with Kairos Ventures.
Kresa's awards for leadership include Forbes magazine's "Company of the Year" recognition in December 2002; Aviation Week magazine's 2002 Laurel Citation for achievements in aeronautics/propulsion; the Caltech Management Association's Excellence in Management Award for demonstrating extraordinary vision and leadership; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his significant contributions to our nation's heritage; the Howard Hughes Memorial Award for his contributions to the advancement of aviation and space technology; and his selection by Businessweek magazine as one of the nation's top 25 managers for 2001. He was also named California Industrialist of the Year.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the past chairman of the board of governors of the Aerospace Industries Association, and chairman of the Defense Policy Advisory Committee on Trade, Kresa is also an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and was its president for a one-year term in 2002.
Kresa holds three degrees from MIT: a BS (1959), an MS (1961), and an EAA (1966), all in aeronautics and astronautics.
