John Kelly
Chief Financial Officer and Director for Financial & Business Operations
John Kelly was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Director for Financial & Business Operations in October 2024. In this role, he leads JPL’s strategic development, as well as fiscal accountability and compliance of the Lab’s financial and operational strategies, policies, and practices.
John brings over 25 years of experience working in diverse financial environments and disciplines. Prior to JPL, he spent time as a fractional CFO supporting various private equity companies with their financial needs.
He started his career as a U.S. Marine, providing financial analysis and auditing support for several military bases. John then spent 15 years working at BAE Systems in progressive leadership roles supporting complex government development programs, large-scale manufacturing, financial planning and analysis, and independent cost evaluation. He was then recruited to Raytheon Technologies, serving as CFO of the Tactical Strike Missile Program Area and later as head of operations for Supply Chain & Quality Finance in the Naval Power business area.
John holds an MBA from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from California State University San Marcos. He has also earned certificates in Executive Leadership from Cornell and Executive Finance from Oxford.