The Opportunity for Leadership

Dave Komendat, the CSO of Boeing, shares with us how the pandemic confirmed the depth of character, leadership and resilience of his company and his team.

Dave is vice president and Chief Security Officer for The Boeing Company. Appointed in 2008, Komendat is responsible for the company’s global security and fire protection policy and procedures, site security, executive protection, supply chain and aviation security, structural and aircraft fire protection, government and proprietary information security, strategic intelligence, international security, business continuity and disaster preparedness, and security background investigations.

Komendat is also the lead Boeing interface for both national and international security policy engagement with numerous government and industry advisory groups. He currently represents Boeing as president of the International Security Management Association, past co-chairman and current board member on the Domestic Security Alliance Council and serves as a member of the Threats and Information Committee for the Overseas Security Advisory Council.

Komendat holds board leadership roles in many non-profits with missions to protect people within the U.S. and internationally, including Hostage U.S., International Security Foundation, and the Domestic Security Partnership. In 2018, he was awarded the Director’s Award for Exceptional Public Service by FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Komendat graduated from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice specializing in industrial security and is a graduate of the executive development program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Komendat joined Boeing as an industrial security specialist in 1986.