Steve ‘Zed’ Roberton comes to Boeing after a 30-year career in the RAAF, and a brief stint at Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand. Photo: Boeing.
Boeing has announced the appointment of former Royal Australian Air Force officer Air Vice-Marshal (Ret’d) Steve ‘Zed’ Roberton as its new president for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
Roberton comes to the role after retiring from a 30-year career in the RAAF in 2022, and succeeds Maria Fernandez who retired last October.
His time in the RAAF included 26 years as a fighter pilot flying the F/A-18A Hornet and F/A-18F Super Hornet, with a two-year exchange posting with the US Marine Corps.
He also commanded the inaugural Operation OKRA Air Task Group based on the UAE in 2014, and served as Commanding Officer of the RAAF’s 75 Squadron, Officer Commanding 82 Wing, Commander Air Combat Group, Air Commander Australia, and as Head Force Design in the Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group.
He subsequently worked as a senior advisor with McKinsey & Company, and was briefly appointed as chief executive of Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand in late 2024 before leaving the position after just six weeks. He subsequently began consulting for Boeing Defence Australia in June 2025.
President of Boeing Global and former federal Liberal leader and defence minister Dr Brendan Nelson said, “Zed is a widely-admired leader who is committed to advancing Australia’s national security and aviation priorities.
“His decades of hands-on experience leading complex joint military operations demonstrate that he has the proven skills and values needed to guide our Oceania operations forward.”
Roberton added, “I’m in awe of our broad commercial and defence portfolio across Australia and New Zealand, and I look forward to collaborating with our employees, customers and partners as we work together to define the future of aerospace in the region.”
Boeing provides many of the commercial and military aircraft in service in Australia, including 737 airliners in service with Virgin Australia and Qantas and 787s in service with Qantas.
The RAAF operates the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III, E-7A Wedgetail, P-8A Poseidon, 737 MAX8 transport, F/A-18F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and the recently ordered MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft.
The Australian Army also flies Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavylift and the new AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, while Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific supplies the Integrator tactical unmanned system.
Air New Zealand flies 777 and 787 airliners, while the Royal New Zealand Air Force operates the 757 transport and the P-8A Poseidon. Smaller nations and operators in the region also fly 767 and 737 freighters and airliners.
The company also has a large sustainment business which supports many of the Australian Defence Force’s aircraft fleets, and Boeing Defence Australia also manufactures and provides the advanced Currawong satellite communications system to the ADF.
Melbourne-based Boeing Aerostructures Australia manufactures key advanced composite components for Boeing and Airbus airliners worldwide and for the MQ-28, while the MQ-28 itself will soon be assembled at a new facility near Toowoomba.
