Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] executive, Philip de St. Aubin, vice president of International Relations based in Washington, D.C., was recently selected as one of the country's 50 most important Hispanics in technology and business by Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine.

The 2004 honorees include many of the nation's highest-achieving Hispanic executives, managers, and researchers in industry, government, and academia.

"Boeing values the technical expertise, leadership skills and business savvy that Philip de St. Aubin brings to the company," said Joan Robinson-Berry, director, Technical Excellence, for Boeing. "He is a role model at Boeing and for future engineering students everywhere."

Born in Santiago, Chile, to an American executive and Chilean mother, de St. Aubin spent most of his childhood in Chile, Peru and Mexico. His fascination with aviation began at an early age watching airplanes take off from the airport. As he grew older, de St. Albin's interest in aviation grew and he knew that one day he would work for Boeing. Consequently, de St. Aubin moved to the U.S. to pursue a higher education, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, and later a Master's degree in finance from the University of Puget Sound in Washington State. He is fluent in Spanish and comprehends Italian and Portuguese.

Today, de St. Aubin oversees the operational management and strategic planning of an organization supporting the Boeing global strategy in aerospace, commercial and military aviation. He is responsible for the coordination and integration of company-wide processes, organizational management, business planning, program management and human resources. Previously, he was business director and deputy vice president for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Europe.

Throughout his 27 years at Boeing, de St. Aubin has held a number of leadership positions in Europe and various countries in South America. He started his career in the engineering world, and later moved to the company's marketing department. Shortly after, he supported the company's Latin American sales activities.

Among his career achievements was his role in helping strengthen Boeing's presence in Spain. He worked on such projects as the Boeing Flight Safety Training Center for pilots and technicians in Palma de Mallorca, a scholarshipprogram for Spanish teachers, and the establishment of the Boeing Research and Technology Center in Madrid.

In the community where he lives and works, de St. Aubin enjoys mentoring students and advising them to stay focused on finishing their education. He also wants to see more Hispanics pursue technical careers.

"Boeing sees diversity in its work force as a competitive advantage and as a cornerstone to the company's growth as a global enterprise," said de St. Aubin. "As such, we need more young Hispanic men and women making technical careers their first choice. They should be playing a more vital role in the future of space exploration, commercial transportation, the creation of leading-edge systems for national defense and technological breakthroughs that make life better for all."

de St. Aubin is married and has four children. Three are studying abroad in Chile, and the youngest is a sophomore high school student in Washington, D.C.