Few CIOs are handed the keys to a $26.5 billion defense business. In 2022, Ted Colbert made that unusual leap at Boeing, moving from the company’s top technology role to president and CEO of its Defense, Space & Security division. He was taking over one of Boeing’s biggest businesses at a difficult moment, responsible for military aircraft, space systems and national security programs serving governments around the world.
The move was more than a promotion. Colbert had spent years building his career in technology and operations, joining Boeing in 2009 and eventually becoming CIO. Now he had to translate that experience into running a sprawling aerospace and defense operation where billion-dollar contracts, complex engineering programs and government customers left little room for error.
He Cut Eight Divisions to Four
Seven months after taking BDS, Colbert made his clearest organisational bet.
In the third quarter of 2022, the division recorded a $2.798 billion operating loss, driven largely by losses on fixed-price development programmes.
Colbert responded by restructuring BDS.
In November 2022, Boeing consolidated eight divisions into four, simplified senior leadership responsibilities and strengthened central oversight of manufacturing, quality, supply chain and programme management. Steve Parker was installed as chief operating officer.
The bet was that fewer organisational boundaries would improve accountability and execution.
There was measurable improvement: BDS’s operating loss narrowed from $3.54 billion in 2022 to roughly $1.76 billion in 2023. That cannot be attributed solely to Colbert’s restructuring, but it showed how much financial leverage better programme execution could create.
The turnaround, however, never became complete. Colbert left Boeing in September 2024 while the division was still struggling with cost overruns and programme execution.
Three Rules That Shaped Colbert’s Operating Style
Find the Truth in Data
Use data to challenge management assumptions, not simply confirm them.
As Boeing’s CIO, Colbert pushed the company to use analytics to expose operational problems that conventional reporting could miss. He told McKinsey Quarterly that his job was to “figure out where truth lies in data” that could help Boeing prosper over the long term.
Colbert said Boeing combined information from about 13 systems and discovered hundreds of millions of dollars in inventory sitting inside the company without corresponding demand. The finding was large enough that some employees initially challenged the data.
Change the Conversation to Value
When executives are measuring the wrong thing, redirect the discussion toward the economic outcome that matters.
“If you don’t like the conversation, if you don’t like the narrative, change the darn conversation, change the darn narrative!” Colbert told CIO in 2021.
He gave a practical example. Boeing finance executives had focused on the per-unit cost of PCs. Colbert’s team reframed the discussion around whether technology could reduce costs on Boeing products worth millions of dollars.
His hierarchy for technology leaders was similarly explicit: “people, business, technology.”
Treat Groupthink as an Operating Risk
Team composition matters because similarity of perspective can become a decision-making weakness.
While running Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Colbert told Defense One that he was particularly concerned about the least-diverse teams because “they tend to suffer from a little bit of groupthink.”
His argument went beyond representation. Colbert linked broader talent pools and inclusive teams to innovation and productivity, making diversity part of his operating philosophy rather than simply a human-resources objective.
The Contract Trap That Colbert Could Not Escape
Colbert inherited one of Boeing’s most expensive strategic mistakes: aggressive fixed-price development contracts.
Under this structure, Boeing absorbed overruns when development costs exceeded expectations. By 2022, inflation, supply-chain disruption, technical problems and manufacturing costs had turned several contracts into major financial liabilities.
By July 2024, Colbert’s position had hardened: complex development work under fixed-price terms was, he said, “a recipe for failure.”
The lesson was structural. A company can improve execution and still lose money when the underlying deal transfers too much uncertainty onto the seller.
The Network Behind the Operator
Colbert’s institutional network extends beyond Boeing. He joined ADM’s board in 2021 and has held roles across the National Academy of Engineering, Executive Leadership Council, Georgia Tech Foundation, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and New Leaders.
His influence is portrayed through mentorship and institutional access. In July 2026, he joined XeleratedFifty as a senior partner, working with founders on scaling, capital pathways and corporate access.
Key Takeaway: Audit the Deal Before Fixing the Team
Before trying to improve execution, write down the economics of your three biggest projects: price, controllable cost, uncontrollable risk and who absorbs overruns.
Colbert’s Boeing experience exposes a crucial management principle: operational excellence cannot permanently rescue bad risk allocation.