Jack J. Pelton

Before becoming Cessna's CEO, Pelton was its Senior Vice President of Product Engineering since 2000 and prior to that, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Programs at Fairchild Dornier. Previous to Fairchild, he worked at McDonnell Douglas for over two decades.

Pelton grew up in an aviation family in Riverside, California. His father flew in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and was an early member in the local EAA chapter in Riverside. His mother was also a pilot.

Soon after Pelton was named CEO of Cessna, it was revealed in 2004 that his resume included references to education received from Hamilton University, which 60 Minutes discovered was a diploma mill. Neither his undergraduate or graduate degrees in Aerospace Engineering were earned from an accredited school. Temporarily embarrassed by the revelation, Textron released a statement proclaiming that Pelton was chosen for his 30-year-long career in leadership and not for his faked diplomas.

Pelton testified in favor of a property tax increase to build an aviation training facility that would benefit Cessna at an August 9, 2006 Sedgwick County Commission meeting. At a December 12, 2006 meeting of the Wichita City Council, Cessna applied for industrial revenue bonds that include an exemption from paying property tax on property purchased with IRB proceeds.