Ellen M. Lord (2021)
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, U.S. Department of Defense
Former President & CEO of Textron Systems
Biography
Ellen M. Lord, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment for the United States Department of Defense, was appointed to the AAR Board of Directors in 2021.
Ms. Lord served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment for the United States Department of Defense from August 2017 until January 2021. In this role, she was responsible for all matters about acquisition; developmental testing; contract administration; logistics and materiel readiness; installations and environment; operational energy; chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; the acquisition workforce; and the defense industrial base. Before her government service, Ms. Lord served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Textron Systems from October 2012 to August 2017, where she led a multi-billion dollar company with products and services supporting defense, homeland security, aerospace and infrastructure protection. Prior to that, she served in other leadership positions at Textron Systems and related companies.
Ms. Lord is the former Vice Chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association and has previously served on the boards of the U.S. Naval Institute, the U.S. India Business Council and the Defense Technology Initiative. She was recently appointed to the board of Voyager Space Holdings and serves as an advisor to a number of companies.
She earned a Master of Science degree in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire and a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Connecticut College. Ms. Lord currently is an independent consultant for the aerospace, defense and industrial industries.
