Boom Supersonic Adds Former Lockheed Martin CTO Ray O. Johnson and Former Airbnb HR Chief Mark Levy to Advisory Board
Boom Supersonic, the Colorado company building history’s fastest supersonic commercial airliner, today announced the addition of two seasoned executives to its Advisory Board. Dr. Ray O. Johnson, the former SVP and CTO of Lockheed Martin, and Mark Levy, the former CHRO of Airbnb and Allbirds.
“As we continue to make progress towards fulfilling our mission, Boom’s need for world-class expertise in aviation technology and overall corporate culture will continue to evolve and grow,” said Boom founder and CEO, Blake Scholl. “Now as we move toward completing the build of XB-1, we are entering a new phase in our development as an organization. And I am so pleased to be able to add additional world-class business and engineering expertise as we scale and forge a high-performing organization.”
Dr. Ray O. Johnson served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Lockheed Martin for nine years, where he directed engineering, technology, production operations, global supply chain, program management, and logistics and sustainment. Currently, he is a business and strategy consultant working with a range of technology-related companies, and an active board member on several high-growth tech and aerospace organizations. Johnson is also a renowned academic and sits on the Argonne National Laboratory Board of Governors, and previously held board positions with Sandia Corporation and the USAF Scientific Advisory Board.
“Boom is well-positioned to transform the state of commercial aviation,” said Dr. Johnson. “I am excited about the opportunity to support the continued development of its organizational structure, manufacturing processes, and leadership framework to help drive the company’s success.”
Mark Levy was a pioneer in developing Airbnb’s innovative employee experience—which has become a model for how organizations globally are looking at expanding the HR function. Presently, Levy works with startups to global brands on how to evolve from traditional HR practices to encompass a more holistic employee experience. This transition entails creating an integrated internal and external brand, bringing the mission and values to life, and forging stronger connections among the company, its employees, their customers, and the communities in which they operate.
“Even as a start-up, Boom has built a truly high-performing culture with an exceptional employee experience to support its audacious mission,” said Levy. “With significant growth on the horizon and a goal that will take years to achieve, it will require even greater alignment between management’s vision and the employees’ daily work. My primary focus will be to help Boom’s leadership team leverage both the talents and passions of the team, in a sustainable way.”
