INTEGRATED MISSION SOLUTIONS DD(X ... - Raytheon

28 summer 2003
Distinguished Level Awards Ceremony
On May 20, 2003, Raytheon’s highest quality honor was bestowed upon five
individuals and ten teams from across Raytheon’s businesses. Awardees
and their guests gathered at the Marriott hotel in Burlington, Mass. to
celebrate their accomplishments with key Raytheon leadership figures.
Dan Burnham, Raytheon chairman and former CEO, and Bill Swanson, president, who succeeded
Mr. Burnham as CEO July 1, hosted the evening. After a cocktail reception in the
foyer, the evening’s emcee, Pat Coulter, vice president of communications, Government &
Defense, welcomed everyone to the ceremony.
Greg Shelton, vice president of engineering, technology, quality and manufacturing,
opened the evening by stating, “One of the big things that I think is important tonight is
we’re honoring the big “Q” — the quality beyond just the quality organization, it’s really
honoring quality across our company. Raytheon Six Sigma has been a rallying point for this
company for the past 5 years. As you know, we’re also incorporating CMMI to drive higher
levels of achievement in the process control and disciplines of execution across our programs.
We’re using IPDS to drive program management, engineering, supply chain, quality,
and operations. Many of you receiving the quality award tonight have used Six Sigma in
your processes. Excellence through Six Sigma has become a culture here at Raytheon.”
Gerry Zimmerman, vice president of corporate quality, presented the first 2002 Quality
Excellence Award to Dan Burnham, and stated, “For leading the Raytheon Six Sigma cultural
revolution, for relentless pursuit of excellence, and for motivating all of us to look in the
mirror, and not look up, Dan, I’d like to present you with our first 2002 Quality Excellence
Award.” Burnham graciously accepted the award, and began his moving keynote address.
“Quality is indivisible, it’s key to everything that we do. Sure, Six Sigma is quality and I’m a
Six Sigma guy, but there’s nothing antithetical between quality and six sigma — they are
two peas in a pod. And I’m talking about quality with that big “Q”.
“What do we want to do next? What we want next is for the quality organization to be an
organization of power, an organization that’s defining excellence for us. Excellence that we
can see, that we can measure, and that we can assess.”
“What a great opportunity (for) those of you in the quality departments — you have a
huge opportunity to drive this company forward. Take full advantage of it. We need to
continue to develop this culture of quality — not just a set of data but a whole culture that
engages and energizes every single part of the business. Every aspect of the way that we
anticipate and respond to the customers’ needs — it’s all part of this seamless web.”
“We take responsibility — we know that this isn’t just a business we’re in; we are a
national treasure. We’re a national asset. We make our country a better place to live. We
have a huge responsibility in this wonderful institution called Raytheon.”
“You’ve put the customers and your teams first, sometimes requiring a lot of sacrifice on
your part. And you’ve worked as One Company, leveraging all of our strengths, providing