United States
Gregory J. Hayes is the former executive chairman and chief executive officer of RTX. With more than 30 years of aerospace and defense experience, Hayes held chief executive officer and senior leadership roles across finance, corporate strategy and business development functions. Hayes joined the company’s board in 2020, was elected chairman of the board in 2021 and began serving as executive chairman in 2024 at the conclusion of his tenure as RTX’s chief executive officer. Prior to this, Hayes had a nearly 21-year career at United Technologies Corporation (UTC), culminating in his appointment to chief executive officer in 2014 and chairman in 2016. As CEO, Hayes was instrumental in the formation of RTX—the result of the 2020 merger of UTC’s aerospace businesses, Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace, with Raytheon Company. Hayes, who joined UTC in 1999 through its merger with the Sundstrand Corporation, also served as UTC’s chief financial officer from 2008 to 2014. Hayes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue University and is a certified public accountant.