Textron has named Brian Rohloff president and chief executive of Textron Aviation, effective 31 August 2026, as Ron Draper prepares to retire after more than 27 years with the group. Rohloff currently serves as senior vice president of customer support at Textron Aviation and has worked at Textron since 1997. Draper will remain with the business through year-end as senior adviser to support the transition.
The leadership change comes at Textron’s largest revenue segment, which covers Cessna, Beechcraft and related support operations. Rohloff’s move from customer support to the top role keeps the appointment within the aviation unit’s existing management team. Textron gave no indication of wider strategic changes alongside the transition.
Draper has led Textron Aviation for eight years and is retiring after a long career across the wider company. The timing leaves the new chief executive to take charge at the end of August, with the handover completed during the final months of the year.