PROVIDENCE – Retired four-star Gen. Michael X. Garrett has been elected to Textron Inc.’s 10-member board of directors, the aviation company has announced.
Garrett has 40 years of military service, which included serving as commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command, the largest command in the Army, from March 2019 until his retirement in July 2022.
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“I am incredibly excited to join the Textron team,” Garrett said. “Their corporate values of integrity, respect, trust and pursuit of excellence reflect the ethos I’ve always sought to instill within the Army’s soldiers, families and teams. I look forward to serving Textron in support of its corporate goals and strong culture.”
As chief of the Army Forces Command, Garrett led 750,000 combat and support personnel through the COVID-19 pandemic and a shifting global security landscape. His earlier command tours included U.S. Army Central Command for almost four years, during which he was responsible for all Army activity in the Central Command area. Previously, he spent six years leading Army activity in the Middle East, first as chief of staff, U.S. Central Command and later as commanding general.
“We are honored to add General Garrett to our board,” said Textron CEO and Chairman Scott Donnelly. “His extensive experience in the military and deep understanding of training and deploying U.S. military forces will enable our company to better serve our military customers. We are fortunate to have a leader and strategic thinker of such high caliber joining our board.”
Garrett serves as an executive in residence for Fayetteville State University, a distinguished senior fellow on national security at the Middle East Institute, a senior mentor at the U.S. Army War College and a director of Semper Fi & America’s Fund.
Garrett is a graduate of Xavier University, and a career infantryman, paratrooper and Army Ranger. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service and Defense Superior Service medals, and he is a distinguished member of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
On June 30, Textron’s aviation division, based in Wichita, Kan., reached an agreement with ATP Flight School for 40 Cessna Skyhawk to be delivered to training centers nationwide by 2025.
This is the second fleet purchase of Cessna Skyhawks for ATP’s Airline Career Pilot Program in less than a year. In October 2022, ATP agreed to purchase of 55 Cessna Skyhawks, with deliveries starting in the third quarter of 2023.
“With 95 Skyhawks on order, ATP is committed to providing students with unparalleled access to a modern and advanced fleet, so they can achieve their airline career goals on the fastest timeline possible,” said Michael Arnold, vice president of marketing at ATP Flight School. “ATP’s nationwide fleet operates over a half million flight hours annually, with the oversight and support from ATP’s safety, maintenance, and flight operations quality assurance teams. The Skyhawk’s proven dispatch reliability and effectiveness as a trainer is crucial in meeting this mission and delivering industry-leading training.”
On April 27, Textron Inc. reported a $191 million profit in the first quarter of 2023, a 1% increase year over year. The performance beat Wall Street’s expectations.
The company reported a profit of 92 cents per diluted share, up from 88 cents one year prior. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 72 cents per share.
Textron, which was ranked 318 on the 2023 Fortune 500, will report second-quarter earnings on July 27.
