Business Leader

Tommy Preston, Jr. is the global vice president of ethics at The Boeing Company, where he leads a team of professionals around the world focused on strengthening Boeing’s culture of compliance and ethical behavior rooted in the company’s values. Preston works with senior leadership to foster a “speak up culture” to identify potential risks so that they can be addressed.

Prior to his current position, Preston served as Boeing’s director of national strategy and engagement, and government operations. In this role, he was responsible for advancing the company’s competitive position and providing counsel on various regulatory and public policy issues. In this position, Preston was instrumental in growing Boeing’s presence in South Carolina. Before joining Boeing, Preston maintained a private legal practice, where he represented companies and organizations on economic development, public policy, and regulatory matters.

A longtime advocate for advancing manufacturing in the state, Preston currently serves on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, where he is the first African American to serve as chair in the organization’s 121-year history.

Preston graduated in political science from the University of South Carolina, where he was a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar, served as student body president, and received the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the highest honor awarded to a University of South Carolina student. He also founded Cocky’s Reading Express, a program that has provided books to children across the state.

Preston earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He later served as president of the university’s alumni association – the youngest person in the university’s history to ever serve in this position.