Clayton (Clay) M. Jones was appointed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockwell Collins in June 2002. He had been president and chief executive officer of Rockwell Collins since 2001.
Jones previously served as president of Rockwell Collins and was a corporate officer and senior vice president of Rockwell International, positions he was appointed to in December 1998. Prior to that, he held positions as vice president and general manager of Rockwell Collins Air Transport Division and as corporate senior vice president of Government Operations and International in Washington, D.C. where he represented all Rockwell businesses to international and domestic customers.
From 1988 to 1995, Jones was responsible for the space and aircraft systems business areas as vice president of Aerospace Government Affairs and Marketing at Rockwell’s Government Operations office in Washington. In 1982, he was sponsored by Rockwell to serve a fellowship in a White House Executive Exchange program.
A native of Nashville, Tenn., Jones joined Rockwell International in 1979 after serving in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University.
Jones serves on the Board of Governors of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and is on the Board of Directors of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM). In addition, he is a member of the Business Roundtable, The Business Council, and the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). Jones is an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and is a director of Deere & Company.
Locally, Jones serves on the Tippie College of Business Board of Visitors at The University of Iowa and the Board of Trustees for the United Way of East Central Iowa (UWECI). He is also a member of the Iowa Business Council and the Governor’s Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress (IPEP) board.