Rebecca Ritt Rhoads ('80, Electronics Engineering BS ; '86, Electronics Engineering MS)

Rebecca Ritt Rhoads

President, Raytheon Global Business Services

Chief Information Officer, Raytheon Company

BS Electronics Engineering, Cal Poly Pomona, 1980

MS Electronics Engineering, Cal Poly Pomona, 1986

Rebecca Ritt Rhoads studied electrical engineering at Cal Poly Pomona because she believed electronics would play a significant role in the future. She began her career as an electrical engineer at General Dynamics in 1979 and, through a series of acquisitions, became part of Raytheon Company in 1997.

Today, Rebecca is president of Global Business Services, an organization that provides innovative, high technology services and solutions to Raytheon, and is also CIO for Raytheon. She was inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame by CIO Magazine in 2007 and was listed by The Boston Globe as “The Most Powerful Woman in Technology.”

“Remember that the job you’ll be doing in five or 10 years probably doesn’t exist yet, but you’ll help define and develop it on the way,” Rebecca advises. “Take the hardest jobs that no one wants, do them well and then move on, yet always balance work and life—it will help you stay energized and passionate about both.”