PAE Names Cristal Rice as VP of Readiness, Sustainment; John Heller Quoted

PAE has appointed Cristal Rice as the vice president of its Readiness & Sustainment group, the company reported on Tuesday. Rice is an aerospace industry executive with that has deep experience in team leadership and business development. 

“Cristal has a demonstrated track record for leading high-performing teams and standing up new business development organizations,” said PAE president and CEO, and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, John Heller. “Her leadership will be key to expanding our aviation support offerings and growing our Global Mission Services business.”

Rice has joined PAE from The Boeing Company. During her seven-year tenure with the company, Rice served in various management roles. Rice held the titles of subdivision leader and senior program manager for the U.S. Air Force sustainment programs. 

With Boeing, Rice implemented core and adjacent market strategies. In her role, she built significant revenue and drove new pipeline growth of $5 billion in only two years. Her professional portfolio spans from leading business development efforts with specialized aircraft to missiles and fleet readiness. 

Prior to joining PAE, Rice held leadership roles with Boeing, Raytheon, Chromalloy Component Services, Rolls-Royce Aero Engine Controls and Pratt & Whitney. Rice has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and a bachelor’s degree in economics, both from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

About PAE

For 65 years, PAE has tackled the world’s toughest challenges to deliver agile and steadfast solutions to the U.S. government and its allies. 

With a global workforce of about 20,000 on all seven continents and in approximately 60 countries, PAE delivers a broad range of operational support services to meet the critical needs of our clients. Our headquarters is in Falls Church, Virginia.