Hubert Joly and Ted Colbert are two prominent business leaders whose careers have centered on large-scale transformation, technology and corporate leadership. Joly became widely known through his leadership at Best Buy before moving into teaching and executive education at Harvard Business School. Colbert built a long career across technology, automotive, financial services and aerospace, becoming a senior Boeing executive before joining XeleratedFifty in 2026. Their backgrounds differ, but both have held major leadership positions in complex global organizations.
Hubert Joly and Ted Colbert Quick Bio
| Category | Hubert Joly | Ted Colbert |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Hubert Joly | Theodore “Ted” Colbert III |
| Date of Birth | August 11, 1959 | 1973; exact date is not consistently documented |
| Age | 67 years in 2026 | 53 years in 2026 |
| Net Worth | Estimated around $13 million; third-party estimate, not an independently verified personal statement | Estimated around $22.6 million; third-party estimate based on reported securities holdings, not a confirmed personal net-worth figure |
| Birthplace | Nancy, France | Baltimore, Maryland, USA |
| Nationality | French | American |
| Profession | Business executive, author, educator and corporate director | Business executive, engineer, technology and aerospace leader |
| Famous For | Former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy and his work in business leadership and purpose-driven management | Former President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Boeing Global Services CEO and Boeing CIO |
| Current Role | Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School; corporate board member | Senior Partner at XeleratedFifty, since 2026 |
| Education | HEC Paris and Sciences Po Paris | Morehouse College and Georgia Institute of Technology through a dual-degree engineering program |
| Academic Background | Studied at leading French institutions, including HEC Paris and Sciences Po | Bachelor’s degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering and Interdisciplinary Science |
| Career Beginning | Joined McKinsey & Company in 1983 | Began his technology career before moving through roles at AT&T Bell Labs, Ford and Citigroup |
| Major Early Career | McKinsey & Company; EDS France; Vivendi | AT&T Bell Labs; Ford Motor Company; Citigroup |
| McKinsey Career | Worked at McKinsey from 1983 to 1996, eventually becoming a partner | Not applicable |
| Ford Career | Not applicable | Held technology leadership positions at Ford Motor Company |
| Citigroup Career | Not applicable | Served as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Architecture at Citigroup before joining Boeing |
| Boeing Career | Not applicable | Joined Boeing in 2009 and spent approximately 15 years with the company |
| Best Buy Career | Joined Best Buy in 2012 as President and CEO | Not applicable |
| Best Buy CEO Period | 2012–2019 | Not applicable |
| Best Buy Chairman | Became Chairman in 2015 and later Executive Chairman | Not applicable |
| Boeing CIO | Not applicable | Served as Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of IT & Data Analytics |
| Boeing Global Services CEO | Not applicable | Served as President and CEO of Boeing Global Services |
| Boeing Defense CEO | Not applicable | Became President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security in 2022 |
| Boeing Departure | Not applicable | Left Boeing in September 2024 |
| Current Business Focus | Leadership, purpose, human-centered business and executive education | Deep technology, aerospace, defense innovation and mentoring emerging companies |
| Hobbies / Interests | Publicly associated with leadership, business, human connection and social impact | Technology, engineering, innovation, aerospace and STEM |
| Height | Not reliably documented in authoritative public biographies | Not reliably documented in authoritative public biographies |
| Weight | Not publicly verified | Not publicly verified |
| Hair Color | Gray/white in recent public appearances | Gray/black in recent public appearances |
| Eye Color | Not reliably documented | Not reliably documented |
| Nickname | No widely documented public nickname | Ted is his commonly used name |
| Parents | Detailed parental information is not widely documented | Father worked in labor relations; mother was a social worker |
| Siblings | Limited public information; Joly has publicly mentioned his brother Philippe | Siblings are not widely documented in authoritative biographies |
| Marital Status | Private / not consistently documented in authoritative sources | Private / not consistently documented in authoritative sources |
| Wife / Spouse | Detailed spouse information is generally private | Detailed spouse information is generally private |
| Children | Private family details | Private family details |
| Family Background | French family background; personal family details are largely private | Raised in Baltimore, Maryland, with parents whose careers included public-service and social-work roles |
| No widely verified personal Instagram account identified | No widely verified personal Instagram account identified | |
| Book | The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism | No major business book publicly identified |
| Leadership Philosophy | Strong emphasis on purpose, people, human connection and meaningful work | Strong emphasis on technology, innovation, engineering and transformation |
| Major Transformation | Led Best Buy through a major business transformation during his tenure as CEO | Led major technology and aerospace organizations through digital and operational transformation |
| Awards / Recognition | Thinkers50 2021 Leadership Award; recognized by major business publications and organizations | 2022 Black Engineer of the Year Award, 2021 Capital CIO of the Year ORBIE and other professional honors |
| Professional Organizations | Harvard Business School; Johnson & Johnson board; S&P Global board; HEC Paris advisory board | National Academy of Engineering; former Aerospace Industries Association board chairman |
| Notable Corporate Boards | Johnson & Johnson, S&P Global and previously Ralph Lauren | Has served on corporate and institutional boards including ADM and Virginia Tech |
| Harvard Business School | Senior Lecturer of Business Administration; faculty member since 2020 | Not applicable |
| XeleratedFifty | Not applicable | Joined XeleratedFifty as Senior Partner in July 2026 |
| Industry | Retail, hospitality, consulting, education and corporate leadership | Aerospace, defense, technology, automotive and financial services |
| Known Leadership Era | Best Buy transformation and subsequent work in purposeful leadership | Boeing technology and aerospace leadership |
| Career Highlights | McKinsey → EDS → Vivendi → Carlson → Best Buy → Harvard Business School | AT&T Bell Labs → Ford → Citigroup → Boeing → XeleratedFifty |
| Public Profile | Business educator, author and former major-retail CEO | Technology and aerospace executive and deep-tech advisor |
| Estimated Wealth Source | Executive compensation, corporate leadership, investments and board activities | Executive compensation, corporate leadership, investments and reported securities holdings |
| Overall Career Focus | Business transformation and purposeful leadership | Technology transformation, aerospace and defense innovation |
Hubert Joly and Ted Colbert Images
