Video: Steve Parker On Boeing’s Historic F-47 Win And The Future Of Aerospace

Steve Parker, President and CEO at Boeing Defense, Space and Security, reflects on Boeing’s historic win at the Laureates Awards.

At the Laureates Awards in March, Steve Parker shared his thoughts on receiving a prestigious honor from Aviation Week. The award, he explained, represents the efforts of over 40,000 Boeing employees driving innovation in aerospace.

The evening celebrated Boeing’s groundbreaking win with the F-47 program, a generational achievement. Recalling the moment he received the call from the U.S. Air Force confirming the win, Parker described the experience as nerve-wracking yet gratifying. “It was ourselves or Lockheed, and we came out on top. And I knew we'd put a good solution in, it was just very gratifying. More so for the team, I think when I was able to finally tell them that we'd won. Just to see the emotion. Yeah, the emotion was was pretty amazing,” he said.

As Boeing enters a new era, Parker highlighted cultural shifts driving the company’s resurgence. “I think it's just accountability and transparency, collaboration. I'm a I'm a program manager. That's what I've been doing for most of my career at Boeing. So it's just disciplined program execution and bringing back engineering excellence. And our CEO, Kelly Ortberg has really been championing that,” he explained.

Parker’s leadership philosophy centers on empowering teams and fostering confidence. “It's just getting our confidence back and just being accountable as leaders and removing obstacles from our teams. That's what it's really about from my perspective,” he said.

The Laureates Awards underscored Boeing’s achievements and the dedication that drives success in aerospace. For Parker, the evening was a reminder of the passion and hard work that define the industry.