UCF Alum & Former Boeing Exec Tells How She ‘Got to the One’
In 1977, UCF Career Services helped business graduate Laurette Koellner land a job as an entry level budget analyst with McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing). Three decades later, she would retire as the highest ranking female in the aerospace giant’s history.
On Friday, May 27, the retired President of Boeing International and Senior Vice President of Boeing Company took the stage in the UCF Pegasus Ballroom and shared the story of her rise to the top with 600 new UCF College of Business students. Each semester incoming College of Business students attend Welcome to the Majors to learn how to network, about the culture of the college, how to differentiate themselves in the job market and how to “Get to the One” when they graduate.
Koellner said she was able to get to the one by being open to taking risks and trying new roles in the company that were outside of her comfort zone. The 2003 UCF College of Business Hall of Fame inductee urged students to:
- Enable others to see you in your next role.
- Seize opportunities based on very broad parameters, not specific job descriptions.
- Dare to take risks.
She said her path included several lateral moves and ventures into areas such as Internal Audit that gave her a broader understanding of Boeing and its 300,000+ employees. That experience prepared her for a role with the Office of the Chairman, which included the CEO, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer.
“Most CEOs are multi-disciplined,” she told the standing-room only crowd.