Jack J. Pelton

Who is Jack J. Pelton?

Jack J. Pelton is a former CEO of Cessna Aircraft Company. Before becoming the CEO of Cessna, Pelton was Cessna's Senior Vice President of Engineering. Before joining Textron in 2000, Pelton was Senior Vice President of Engineering and Programs at Fairchild Dornier. Prior to this, he worked at Douglas Aircraft for over two decades.

Soon after Jack Pelton was named CEO of Cessna, it was revealed that his resume included references to education received from Hamilton University, which 60 Minutes news program 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.