David Calhoun

David Calhoun is special advisor to the Board of The Boeing Company, a leading global aerospace company and provider of commercial airplanes; defense, space and security systems; and global services.

Calhoun served as president and chief executive officer of Boeing from January 2020 to August 2024. He was formerly a member of Boeing’s Board of Directors, where he served as board chairman for a portion of his tenure. Calhoun has expertise in a wide array of strategic, business, safety and regulatory matters across several industries due to his executive, management and operational experience.

Calhoun previously served as senior managing director and head of portfolio operations at The Blackstone Group beginning in 2014. During his time with the investment firm, he focused on creating and driving added-value initiatives with Blackstone’s portfolio company CEOs.

Earlier, he served as executive chairman of the board for Nielsen Holdings from 2014 to 2016. He joined Nielsen in 2006 as chief executive officer shortly after it was acquired through a consortium of private equity investors, including Blackstone. Throughout his seven-year Nielsen tenure, Calhoun led the company’s transformation into a leading global information and measurement firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Calhoun began his career at General Electric Company (GE), where he rose to vice chairman of the company, and president and chief executive officer of GE Infrastructure, its largest business unit. During his 26 years at GE, he held a number of operating, finance and marketing roles and led multiple business units, including GE Transportation and GE Aircraft Engines.

Calhoun serves as vice rector for Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors and also chairs its Compliance, Audit and Risk Committee. He is the co-author of the book “How Companies Win.” Calhoun has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech.