Montelongo elected, two retire from board of trustees

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 17, 2009 - At its December meeting, The Aerospace Corporation board of trustees elected a new member, Michael Montelongo, and honored two departing trustees, John McLuckey and Dr. Daniel Hastings, with commendatory resolutions.

Montelongo, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Sodexo Inc., and a former assistant secretary of the Air Force, was elected on Dec. 9.

He has extensive senior management experience in the national security community, both in the public and private sectors, including service in the Senate and the Pentagon. He was assistant secretary of the Air Force, financial management and comptroller, from 2001 to 2005. In that position he served as chief financial officer and principal adviser to the secretary of the Air Force on all financial matters. Before leaving the Pentagon, Montelongo also served as the acting secretary of the Air Force.

Hispanic Business magazine has twice placed him on its “100 Most Influential Hispanics” list and Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine has twice listed him among the “50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business.”

Throughout his career he has been involved in strategy and policymaking for major, multinational commercial and public-sector enterprises and is recognized for leading change in large organizations.

Montelongo earned a bachelor’s degree in science from the U.S. Military Academy and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. He is based in Gaithersburg, Md.

McLuckey and Hastings received resolutions from board chair Peter Teets at a dinner on Dec. 10 in appreciation for their leadership, service, and contributions to Aerospace and the board. Both were elected in December 2000 and served three consecutive three-year terms, the maximum allowed under the corporation’s bylaws.

McLuckey has retired from the board because another term following a one-year hiatus would have taken him beyond the mandatory retirement age of 72. Dr. Hastings is eligible for re-election after a one-year hiatus.

McLuckey is chairman and CEO of Preferred Pharmaceuticals Inc. He spent nearly four decades in the aerospace and electronics industry. He retired from The Boeing Company as president of Space Systems and was previously president and chief operating officer of the Rockwell Aerospace and Defense businesses.

Dr. Hastings is a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at MIT and is also the dean of undergraduate education. He is a former chief scientist of the Air Force.