Davis becomes senior executive at PEO Aviation

Rodney Davis, deputy program executive officer for aviation, was promoted to the Senior Executive Service by Maj. Gen. Robert Barrie, PEO Aviation, during a ceremony May 1 at Bob Jones Auditorium.

“I am so thankful to be here today, to have the opportunity to celebrate this awesome Army day,” Barrie said.

Remarking on the necessary attributes of a candidate selected for Senior Executive Service, Barrie added, “Less than half a percent of our federal workforce are selected to be members of the Senior Executive Service. We do that because we recognize someone that can lead change and lead people, they have gifted business acumen and they’re able to build consensus and build teams. That’s not better reflected by anyone more so than by our friend, colleague and mentor, Rodney Davis.”

Davis recognized his family and all of the leaders in his life for his successes, stating he could not have gotten where he is without their help.

“Being an SES, I will do my best to really help out the workforce,” he said. “I know we have the best people; I will pledge to do everything in my power to make the PEO Aviation team successful.”

Davis, a retired Army aviator and acquisition officer, has supported PEO Aviation since returning from an Afghanistan deployment as an administrative contracting officer supporting the Combined Forces Command. In his initial Program Executive Office for Aviation assignment, Davis served as the program integrator for the UH-72A Lakota. In 2007, he was assigned to the Cargo Helicopters Project Office as the assistant product manager for product improvement and foreign military sales until his military retirement in 2010. He was then selected for his second Cargo Helicopters Project Office assignment, as the deputy product manager for cargo modernization, where he remained until 2017. From 2017-21 Davis served as the Cargo Helicopters Project Office deputy project manager. He then served as the PEO Aviation chief of staff until accepting the role of acting deputy PEO last July.

Davis received his commission from the U.S. Military Academy in 1990 as an aviation officer. His has a bachelor’s in economics from West Point and a master’s of business administration from the University of Virginia. He is also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and is Level III certified in program management and contracting. He completed the Program Manager’s Course in 2012.