United Technologies Corp. Chairman and CEO Louis Chenevert Named Person of the Year by Aviation Week

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviation Week has selected Louis R. Chenevert, chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), parent company to aerospace giants Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Hamilton Sundstrand, as its 2011 Person of the Year. With a series of bold—and surprising—deals, Chenevert ensured Pratt & Whitney's resurgence, while reinvigorating UTC as a force to be reckoned with in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industries. Complete coverage of the Person of the Year is included in a cover story in this week's Aviation Week & Space Technology.

"The sum of Louis Chenevert's achievements will reverberate for many years to come," said Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., editorial director of Aviation Week and editor-in-chief of Aviation Week & Space Technology. "He is the person who had the most impact on the industry in 2011."

Chenevert initiated and personally negotiated what became the biggest A&D deal of the decade, UTC's $18.4-billion agreement to acquire Goodrich, creating a commercial aircraft super-supplier with a vast product line. Chenevert, who ran Pratt & Whitney from 1999 to 2006, also made big strides in his decade-long effort to restore Pratt & Whitney as a major player in the narrowbody commercial jet engine market. Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan jet engine (view demo) saw brisk sales as an engine option on Airbus' A320NEO jet. Pratt & Whitney also acquired a majority share in International Aero Engines, formed a joint venture with Rolls-Royce to develop engines for the next generation of narrowbody jets, and cemented its role as the sole engine supplier in the $380-billion Joint Strike Fighter program. Pratt & Whitney was not the only UTC aerospace business with a good year—Sikorsky also won the 2011 Collier Trophy for its X2 high-speed helicopter technology demonstrator (view video), which is expected to revolutionize the industry.

As UTC evolves, Chenevert has his eye on the future. "The ultimate prize to me is to be on the next generation 737," he says.

The Person of the Year distinction, the seventh in Aviation Week's 96-year history, recognizes the impact individuals have on the broader A&D community. Aviation Week staff editors selected Chenevert from an international field of candidates. Prior recipients include United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek (2010); the Space Entrepreneur (2009); former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (2008); the father of China's space program, Tsien Hsue-shen (2007); Alan Mulally, previously of Boeing Co. (2006); and Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, previously of Finmeccanica (2005).

Complete coverage of the Person of the Year is available at http://www.aviationweek.com.

About Aviation Week:

Aviation Week, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is the largest multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries, and includes http://AviationWeek.com, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Defense Technology International, Business & Commercial Aviation, Overhaul & Maintenance, ShowNews, Aviation Daily, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, The Weekly of Business Aviation, Aviation Week Intelligence Network and MRO Links. The group also produces major events around the world.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:

McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide.  McGraw-Hill Financial's brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries.  Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.  

SOURCE Aviation Week

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