Raytheon Technologies

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The newly created aerospace giant emerged in April 2020 from the merger of United Technologies and Raytheon Co. Former UT CEO Greg Hayes took over as chief executive, while Raytheon boss Thomas Kennedy became the board’s executive chairman. The pair focused the new company on winning more government orders, including a $320 million NASA contract to support operations at the International Space Station. It was a strategy created partly out of necessity, because Raytheon’s other major customer base—the commercial airline industry—was decimated by the pandemic. The company laid off 16,500 workers and cut costs by $2 billion; even so, operating profits at Raytheon’s two aerospace units dropped 67% and 131% in 2020 compared with the prior year.