Textron eAviation President and CEO Kriya Shortt Named `Executive in Residence’ by the World’s Premier Aviation and Aerospace University

Global aerospace leader and innovator Kriya Shortt, president and CEO of Textron eAviation, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) business segment, has been named an Executive in Residence at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s renowned David B. O’Maley College of Business.

In that capacity, Shortt will join a prestigious cohort of top executives selected to share their career insights and advice with Embry-Riddle students, to help mentor the next generation of aviation and aerospace business leaders. The prestigious Executive in Residence cohort — originally launched by a generous gift from University Trustee David B. O’Maley and his wife Karen — encompasses a diverse array of top talent and leadership positions across the industry.

“We are deeply honored to welcome Ms. Shortt as a distinguished Executive in Residence at Embry-Riddle,” said Dr. Shanan G. Gibson, dean of the O’Maley College of Business, who has worked to evolve and expand the program since its inception in 2018. “With nearly 30 years of experience, including more than a decade at the senior leadership level and work in the exciting new field of electric aircraft, she is well-positioned to inspire our students and open their eyes to the full range of career opportunities available to them.”

“I’m incredibly grateful for the mentors who have encouraged, challenged and supported me throughout my career,” shared Shortt. “Their experiences and investment in me fuel my passion for empowering the next generation of aviation professionals. In addition to working closely with outstanding Embry Riddle students, I look forward to collaborating with Dean Gibson and her faculty members as we evaluate and adapt the business aviation curriculum to meet the evolving needs of the industry.”

Shortt began her career in 1996 as part of the customer service organization at Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron company now known as Textron Aviation Inc., then served in various senior leadership roles across Sales and Marketing as well as Aftermarket Service and Support. More recently, Shortt served as Textron Aviation’s senior vice president of Global Parts and Distribution as well as president of Able Aerospace, a component repair and overhaul business for rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft, and McCauley Propeller Systems, both also Textron businesses. She also holds a private pilot’s license.

As president and CEO of Textron eAviation, Shortt leverages the work across Textron’s aerospace and defence businesses in developing new opportunities to take advantage of fixed wing and rotorcraft expertise in emerging aerospace technologies and markets. She is responsible for building external partnerships and creating a path for the further development and utilization of aircraft electrification and connected mobility technologies in the global market. In her role, Shortt oversees a business segment encompassing global-reaching aviation companies, including Textron eAviation Inc., developing the Nexus electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) in Wichita, Kansas, as well as aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel, located in Slovenia and Italy, and flight control company Textron eAviation GmbH, located in Germany. 

Manifesting Many Pathways to Success

Shortt’s impressive career trajectory illustrates the diverse ways that talented, hard-working people of all backgrounds can rise to the top of their fields — one of Gibson’s key goals for the Executive in Residence program.

“I want students to be aware of the many ways that success can manifest, and the full range of business opportunities that are available to all types of executives,” she said. “Successful aviation business professionals can be pilots, non-pilots, veterans, engineers, marketing or cybersecurity experts, and all genders regardless of zip code, with a variety of business skills and life experiences.”

As an Executive in Residence at Embry-Riddle, Shortt will visit Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus once per semester — either in person or virtually — to take part in activities such as panel discussions about current trends in aviation business, thought leadership talks focused on workforce diversity or other timely issues, and one-on-one meetings with students and faculty. Executives in Residence are asked to serve for a two-year period, and at any given time, the cohort may include three or four professionals, Gibson said.

Since 2018, Embry-Riddle has named six Executives in Residence. They are listed in alphabetical order below:

• Pete Agur, chairman and founder, The VanAllen Group
• Leanne Caret, senior advisor to Blackstone; director on the boards of Deere & Company and RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies; former executive with The Boeing Company; member of the Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees)
• Candace J. Covington, senior director for aviation, Adobe
• Ravi Dharnidharka, senior vice president, Cirrus Services; Embry-Riddle alumnus
• Barry Eccleston, retired CEO and president, Airbus Americas, Inc.
• Kriya Shortt, president and CEO, Textron eAviation

Benefits to Students

Fans of the Executive in Residence program include Jerry Bracey II, the first-ever recipient of Embry-Riddle’s Project Liftoff scholarship who is a “Business Eagle” and future leader as well as an outstanding student athlete.

Bracey interacted extensively with two Executives in Residence — Pete Agur of The VanAllen Group and Candace Covington of Adobe, whom he described as “some of the brightest individuals I’ve ever met.” Bracey expressed gratitude for the wealth of knowledge that Agur and Covington shared with him as well as the time they spent with him. As a result of the mentorships, Bracey said, he was able to tour Aviation at Adobe, and he met with Agur for dinner, among other opportunities.

“Creativity, wonder, problem-solving, adaptability, asking questions, critical thinking, leadership and team building are only a few of the skills that they taught me,” Bracey said of his two Executive in Residence mentors. “My relationships with them even led to other valued connections. More than anything, they taught me how to care for others — to take a little and give a lot.”

Embry-Riddle’s newest Executive in Residence, Kriya Shortt, holds a bachelor’s degree in French from the College of the Ozarks and an MBA from Webster University. She is a graduate of the Textron Executive Leadership Program at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and of the Senior Executive Leadership program at Duke University. Kriya currently serves on the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) membership board, as well as the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Leadership Advisory Council, which offers the NBAA Board of Directors guidance on business member interests, government representation, industry programs, communication efforts and educational initiatives. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Wichita State University Innovation Alliance Board, a nonprofit organization that serves as the governing entity for Wichita State University's Innovation Campus and manages all Wichita State University intellectual property. In alignment with her passion for mentoring and supporting youth, she also recently served on the Board of Trustees for the Wichita Children’s Home, a nonprofit organization that offers the only emergency, temporary, and residential care for children in Wichita.

She lives in Wichita, Kansas, with her husband, dog and home-built airplane.

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