Wesley D. Kremer
A Legacy of Leadership and Service
By Jay Gonzales
As president of Southern Arizona’s largest private employer, Raytheon, Wes Kremer was in a position to heavily influence the region’s economic development fortunes.
And he did before he retired last January, actively participating in improving the region’s competitiveness, embracing the idea of making the region a corridor for the aerospace and defense industries, and partnering with educational institutions to address the need for local talent.
Kremer died in November and he is fondly remembered by friends and colleagues.
“Wes Kremer was arguably one of the most impactful private sector CEOs in Tucson’s history,” said Joe Snell, president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc., the region’s economic development organization. “The region will miss his leadership, and I will miss him personally.”
Among the many business and community organizations Kremer was actively involved in, he was a Chairman’s Circle member for Sun Corridor Inc. throughout his time at the helm of Raytheon, and he served on the board of Southern Arizona Leadership Council.
“Wes was a true advocate for our community,” said SALC President & CEO Ted Maxwell. “His leadership in organizations such as Sun Corridor and SALC impacted the direction of our efforts. His personal collaboration with the University of Arizona directly led to the continued expansion of the hypersonic wind tunnels at the university.”
Originally from Montana, Kremer, a U.S. fighter pilot, joined Raytheon in 2003. He was appointed president of Raytheon Missile Systems in 2019 and served until his retirement this year. Kremer served 11 years in the U.S. Air Force, which included more than 1,500 hours as a fighter pilot. He held a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Montana State University and a master’s degree in technology management from City University of Seattle.
“Wes was a friend and mentor to a generation of his RTX colleagues, with whom he shared an unwavering commitment to defending our nation,” said RTX President and CEO Chris Calio. “He dedicated his life to America, both in uniform as a U.S. Air Force pilot, and then as the driving force behind some of the nation’s most critical defense systems.”
One of the interesting aspects of Kremer’s long career with Raytheon is that he had first-hand experience with the systems the company produced before he joined.
“I actually used Raytheon products,” Kremer said in a 2019 BizTucson interview. “While in the Air Force, I learned first-hand that Raytheon represents the gold standard in providing quality-engineered military defense products. The things we accomplish in this company to protect our warfighters and give them a technological advantage on the battlefield is absolutely amazing. It’s been interesting coming full circle on that.”
“Wes’ 11 years of experience in the U.S. Air Force, including 90 combat sorties, gave him a unique insight into leading Raytheon Missile Systems,” said Maxwell, a retired U.S. Air Force major general. “He truly understood the concept and importance of Raytheon’s no-fail focus on their systems supporting those defending our country and our principles.”
As Raytheon’s leader in Tucson, Kremer helmed a company that has been here more than 70 years and currently employs more than 12,000 people with more than $2 billion in annual economic impact. According to Sun Corridor Inc., $600 million of that is what the company spends with local suppliers.
“It’s no understatement that the ripple effect of Raytheon is massive, and their presence reaches everyone,” Snell said. “Behind the numbers, however, Wes was a leader who endeavored to create a hub of technology right here in our backyard. He did just that, and he was really proud of Raytheon’s contribution.”
