Colleen S. Pritchett. Credit: Penn State
2022 Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award: Colleen S. Pritchett
3/25/2022
UNIVERISTY PARK, Pa. — Colleen S. Pritchett, president of Hexcel Corporation, Americas Aerospace, has been named one of 11 recipients of the 2022 Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award by the Penn State College of Engineering.
Pritchett earned a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Penn State in 1996, before completing a master of business administration at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. She also completed the Harvard Business School Leadership Program and the Women in Governance Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Prior to joining Hexcel, Pritchett was the vice president of electronics and imaging advanced printing for E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont). Pritchett was responsible for global profit and loss, business development and strategic planning, as well as leading innovation and growth. She improved profitability in the first year, turned around declining revenues and launched a platform of products leading to record growth, earning her team the 2017 Electronics & Imaging Excellence Award.
Prior to 2016, Pritchett led multiple business units for DuPont, including electronics and communications microcircuit materials, performance polymers, Kalrez and Vespel and engineering polymers. She took an international assignment leading performance polymers business in Shanghai, China, from 2013-15 and delivered growth and market share gains throughout the Asia Pacific region. Pritchett then moved to Taipei, Taiwan, where she led a turnaround of the electronics business, gaining market share and improving earnings. Earlier in her career at DuPont, Pritchett held positions as North American sales and distribution manager, strategic planning manager, national accounts team sales manager, as well as other roles in engineering and finance.
Pritchett said she prioritizes growing global businesses, leading turnarounds, improving profitability, championing the customer’s needs and motivating teams to deliver significant results. She has led businesses worth more than $1 billion and is a noted speaker at international industrial forums. She is currently a member of the Aerospace Industries Association’s Civil Aviation Leadership Council; chair of the board for ARC Technologies LLC, a Hexcel company; and director for Aerospace Composites Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Boeing and Hexcel. Previously, Pritchett also served as chair of the board for DuPont’s Xinda Filaments Company Limited.
In service to her alma maters, Pritchett also previously chaired the Penn State Department of Chemical Engineering’s Industrial and Professional Advisory Board and served as vice president for the Penn State chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She also served as president of Emory University’s Graduate Business Association. Pritchett has also coordinated United Way Days of Caring events and sponsored other United Way campaigns.
Share this story:
