Russ “Boss” Bartlett

Professional Speaker
Centerpoint Leadership​

Captain Russ Bartlett, U.S. Navy (retired) is a combat-seasoned F/A-18 Hornet pilot and the former Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of the legendary Blue Angels. He has accumulated over 4,400 flight hours, and 841 carriers arrested landings, 333 of them at night. In the Navy, he was a Hornet Instructor Pilot, a squadron Commanding Officer twice, served as the Navy liaison officer to the U.S. Special Operations Command, and led the Navy organization that built and executed all the department’s Foreign Military Sales cases.

Upon retirement from the Navy, he took the things he learned flying and leading, especially at the Blue Angels, to the Aerospace and Defense industry. He was president of Beechcraft Defense Company, building military trainer aircraft; CEO of Textron Airborne Solutions, an Adversary Air services company providing adversary fighter jets and pilots to the US Department of Defense; and COO of Kaman Aerospace Corporation, a manufacturer of precision aerospace, defense, and medical components.

Following his last executive leadership role, Russ decided to pursue a lifelong dream of being a professional speaker sharing his life lessons. When not on the road, he’s probably pursuing his passions on or around Lake Anna, Virginia, piloting anything with an engine. With cars, motorcycles, and a wake surfing boat, there’s always something exhilarating to drive.