Deloitte announced the appointment of John Coykendall, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, to lead its U.S. aerospace and defense (A&D) sector within the U.S. industrial products and construction practice. Additionally, Coykendall was named Deloitte’s global aerospace and defense sector leader. He succeeds Robin Lineberger, who will be retiring from Deloitte in May after a distinguished career.
Based in Stamford, Connecticut, Coykendall will lead the overall strategic direction of the A&D sector, as well as the go-to-market strategies for Deloitte’s key businesses including audit & assurance, consulting, tax and risk and financial advisory services. Among Deloitte’s A&D clients are companies on the Fortune 500, including the aerospace; commercial aircraft; business and general aviation; space and ship building; and defense industries.
“We are confident John’s sector, client and leadership experience will provide an excellent foundation to continue our momentum in the A&D market,” said Paul Wellener, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. industrial products and construction leader. “He is well-positioned to help our clients transform amid the multidimensional challenges facing the sector, including and especially recovery from the pandemic. We congratulate John on his new role and thank Robin for his exceptional leadership and contributions to the organization.”
Most recently, Coykendall served as the consulting leader for Deloitte’s global industrial products and construction practice. Over his 25-year career, he has worked extensively with global companies with highly engineered products in the A&D, industrial products and automotive industries. He has led large-scale transformation efforts to help businesses with strategic cost transformation and operations/supply chain initiatives.
“The pandemic has created never-before-seen challenges and opportunities for the A&D sector,” said Coykendall. “While the long-term impacts for the commercial aerospace sector remain to be seen, rapid innovation in emerging and transformative technologies are ushering in a new era of aviation. I’m honored to take on this leadership role at such a pivotal time in the industry. I look forward to helping our clients, across the sector, navigate the complex and bold moves required to accelerate adoption of industry 4.0 and other generational step-changes that are expected to drive growth and shape the industry of the future.”
Coykendall has an undergraduate degree from Lafayette College in business and economics; and government and law. He also holds an MBA from Duke University.
