BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEV.
Lockheed’s new leader: Future ‘bright’ for Marietta site
FACTBOOK 2020 69
Staff reports
On April 15, Rod McLean,
49, became vice president of
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
and general manager of the
company’s Marietta facility.
A 25-year Lockheed Martin
employee, McLean, who previously
served as Lockheed’s
vice president and general
manager for its Integrated
Fighter Group organization, succeeded the retiring George Shultz.
His responsibilities as leader of the Air Mobility and Maritime Missions
organization will see him responsible for the C-130, LM-100J, C-5 and P-3
programs. In addition to leading the Marietta facility, McLean will oversee
sub-assembly sites in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and Meridian, Mississippi.
“The future is bright for Marietta,” McLean said, pointing to the site’s role
in manufacturing current aircraft, modifying legacy aircraft and potential to
produce some of the company’s future technologies.
McLean recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the Marietta
Daily Journal.
Below are excerpts from that interview. His responses have been edited for
both brevity and clarity.
Q: Tell us about yourself — how did you get to this point, and what’s your
history with Lockheed?
A: I’m very excited to be a part of the Marietta community. I went to school
here at Georgia Tech after finishing undergrad at North Carolina (Agricultural
and Technical) State University on an undergrad degree in engineering.
I had a chance to come to grad school here at Georgia Tech, and I’ve now
made the full circle. I’ve always had an interest in aerospace and defense, and
it was a dream to come work with Lockheed Martin, and having a chance to
work initially in Moorestown, New Jersey, with the Aegis weapon system, the
Navy’s premier ship-based weapon system for the cruisers and destroyers.
Learned a lot about the company, and more importantly, learned a lot about
the culture. And that’s the main reason why I’ve been here for 25 years with
the company. I have enjoyed being challenged, have enjoyed the variety of
experiences I’ve had, and the most important part, really, the people. The
people make the company, and as I’ve worked across many different sites,
really have enjoyed the relationships I’ve established with my peers, and I’ve
learned from them and I’ve grown from them, which is a lot of the reasons
why I’m here today. ...
I’ve always had an interest in aerospace. I think if I had to do it all over
again, I probably would be a pilot, but probably can’t reverse the clock at my
age, but nevertheless, I’m excited to have the opportunity to work for Aeronautics
out of Fort Worth, Texas, initially, and I spent almost 11 years at Fort
Worth, initially working the F-16 program as a program director, and continued
to perform. And fortunately, I worked in an environment where my
value was recognized and continued to take on broader responsibilities. ...
One thing that I was certainly pleased with and excited about when I
started working was meeting the employees. One individual approached me
as I walked down the hallway, said, “Mr. McLean, just want to welcome you
to Marietta, and I just want you to know that my father re-opened this place
in 1951, and I’ve had a chance to work on just about every airplane that we’ve
used here, and just the joy of working on these aircraft, and more importantly,
the leadership’s support of what I do has been remarkable, which is why
Rod McLean, vice president and general manager
for Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility and Maritime
Missions organization. Special - Ethan Stokes
/viningsbank.com