Robert Ireland is the 2025 president and board chair of SAE International, where he has held multiple volunteer leadership positions, including long-time Board membership, aerospace sector vice president, board finance committee chair, and 27 years on the Aerospace Council assuring the airline community voice is heard on product and process standardization issues.
Ireland recently retired from Airlines for America after 13 years, during which he drew upon more than 35 years of aviation engineering experience. At A4A, he led the safety, maintenance and engineering team, interfacing with member carriers, the FAA and other trade associations to ensure practical solutions that benefit the flying public and ensure safety. In his role, he oversaw the Safety Council and the Engineering, Maintenance and Materiel Council along with their relevant committees tackling issues such as safety management systems, aircraft cabin air quality, airworthiness directive coordination with the FAA, and 5G telecommunications interference with radio altimeters.
Prior to joining A4A, Ireland served United Airlines for 30 years, leading maintenance programs and flight simulator engineering, as well as the delivery acceptance team for 200 of the airline’s Boeing and Airbus aircraft. He was the principal developer of simulator models used across the industry since the late 1980s for pilot windshear training.
Ireland started his career with Boeing and is a graduate of Princeton University.