Dinesh Keskar poses in front of the Neil Armstrong Display on campus

Aerospace engineering alumnus honored with Kautz Master Alumni Award

Dinesh Keskar facilitated billions of dollars in sales at Boeing

By Lindsey Osterfeld Email Lindsey

9 minute read September 14, 2026

University of Cincinnati alumnus Dinesh Keskar spent nearly four decades at the Boeing Company and facilitated billions of dollars in sales. Throughout his career he's had a lasting global impact on aviation, engineering, and internal industry collaboration.

Dinesh Keskar came to the U.S. with a dream of working in aerospace engineering. Earning his M.S. in 1977 and his PhD in 1979 from UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science, Keskar went on to have a historic career at the Boeing Company, retiring in 2019 as senior vice president. Earlier this year, he was honored by UC with the prestigious Kautz Alumni Master Award.

"Getting an award from my alma mater is always a very big deal to me," Keskar said.

Developed by alumnus Jim Kautz, the highly selective award is given to only one or two alumni each year. A core piece of this program is the connection with current students. The Kautz Alumni Masters Forum brings these esteemed alumni back to campus and puts them in a room with the next generation of Bearcats to share their expertise and experience.

From Bearcat to Boeing

Dinesh Keskar poses with the UC Bearcat mascot

Dinesh Keskar earned his M.S. in 1977 and his PhD in 1979 from the University of Cincinnati. Photo/Provided

Keskar came to the University of Cincinnati from India in 1975, just a few years after former astronaut Neil Armstrong's historic moon landing. When considering schools in the U.S., Armstrong's presence at UC as an aerospace engineering professor was a major draw. After completing his master's degree under Professor Gary Slater in 1977, he stayed for his PhD. Keskar's PhD adviser was William Wells, and when choosing the rest of his PhD committee, it was a no brainer that Professor Armstrong would be among the faculty.

"Being advised by Professor Armstrong was amazing," he said. "The engineering library historians haven't come across anyone else with a dissertation signed by Neil Armstrong, so I feel remarkably fortunate."

While doing his PhD coursework, Keskar had the opportunity to go back and forth between UC and NASA's Langley Research Center, working on airplane dynamics, system identification, and beginning stages of the space shuttle. This experience, combined with his PhD, made him a standout candidate for full-time positions in the industry. He got hired as a research engineer at the Boeing Company in 1980, just after completing his PhD.

Keskar's trajectory at Boeing

Keskar spent three years in flight controls research, honing his engineering skills, until a new, unique opportunity arose. At the time, Boeing had a program that identified recent hires who demonstrated leadership potential and gave them the chance to work in units across the business including sales, production, and planning.

During the program, he was inspired by the opportunity to make a direct impact in the company through sales and marketing. He expressed his interest in a sales position, and was told that he had potential, but he needed to grow his business background. He returned to school, attending in the evenings after work, and earned his MBA in 1987.

“When I finished my MBA, I knocked on the door again and got the chance to start in marketing for Boeing,” Keskar said.

Working in sales for Boeing is highly selective. Out of roughly 150,000 employees, fewer than 100 are in sales. Employees are not put in customer-facing roles right away. Keskar spent two years in marketing before interviewing for a sales position.

At the time, there were seven vice presidents of sales, and Keskar had to interview with each one.

"If even one of them says no, you're out of the running," he said. "It's a big deal because you are the Boeing Company in the eyes of the customer."

Left to right: Prashant Khare, Dinesh Keskar, John Weidner.

Dinesh Keskar met with Prashant Khare (left), head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and John Weidner (right) CEAS Dean, on his most recent visit to campus. Photo/Provided

He got the job and began working in the Asia-Pacific region. Following some lost deals in India, Boeing was determined to claim that market, and Keskar had the skillset and cultural roots to help them do so. What was supposed to be a temporary assignment ended up being the rest of his career. Until he retired in 2019, Keskar oversaw Boeing's presence in India.

When he got there, he realized that the company was not in the right place, literally. At the time, all airlines were owned by the government in Delhi and Boeing was stationed across the country in Mumbai. Over the next few years, Keskar spent his time going back and forth to Delhi, meeting with top representatives, building relationships, and placing Boeing as the best choice for India’s aircraft.

Big deals at Boeing

In 1993, Boeing completed its first billion-dollar deal with India. Keskar orchestrated it.

"A billion dollar deal was something Boeing hadn't done in a long time. After this deal I was given more control of other airlines and spent four years opening the Boeing office in India," he said.

The presence of a Boeing office in India cemented the company as an asset to the country’s aerospace infrastructure. Beyond the aircraft, Boeing invested in local talent, training people to be able to work on Boeing planes.

“At our expense, we trained staffs of people in India, and it created a ready pool of engineers who could work on an airline,” Keskar said. “The owners of the airline were more inclined to choose Boeing airplanes because they had staff available.”

Other companies were imitating this, trying to keep up with Boeing. In 2005, India made the largest deal in aviation history worth $13.5 billion. The assumption was that it would be split between Boeing and a competitor for political reasons.

To everyone’s surprise, Boeing landed all $13.5 billion. Groundwork laid by Keskar in the country was critical for this deal.

"Because we built trust, because we knew how the government operated, we secured the entire slice of the deal," he said.

This propelled the rest of his career, leading to him serving as head of the Asia-Pacific region. Everywhere from India to Australia to the Island of Fiji were Keskar's responsibility. Leading such a large region, Keskar had the unique opportunity to meet, and work with, many heads of state from around the world, including former President Obama.

Over the course of his career at the Boeing Company, Keskar estimates he sold around 2500 airplanes, valued between $300-$350 billion USD.

Cincinnati's lasting impact

"I give a lot of credit to Cincinnati because of the education I got there, the fact that I was able to join the Boeing Company and use my skills as an engineer," Keskar said.

His time at UC was formative both personally and professionally. His first day on campus was also his first day in the U.S. He learned to be an engineer, and he learned all about American culture. Over the years, he has remained connected with UC, returning to campus most recently for the Kautz Award.

Dinesh Keskar and his wife in front of Nippert Stadium

Dinesh Keskar remains connected to the University of Cincinnati in various ways. Photo/Provided

He is a member of UC's advisory board for aerospace engineering and recently served as a judge for the annual CEAS EXPO, evaluating senior engineering student capstone projects. He also hosted a presentation for students as part of the Kautz Alumni Masters Forum. He also visited with both the CEAS and Lindner College of Business deans, as well as Prashant Khare, head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, to discuss the groundbreaking research happening in the department.

"The caliber of research at UC is extraordinary," Keskar said. "Seeing undergrads conduct sophisticated research that was previously only done at the doctoral level is truly inspiring."

For Keskar, returning to campus brings his journey full circle.

“Getting a Kautz Award is a recognition that you’ve done something as an alumnus,” he said. “Even more important, you can share your experiences with students and inspire them to be anything they want to be.”

Featured image at top: Dinesh Keskar, aerospace engineering alumnus, had a historic career at the Boeing Company. Photo/Provided

Aerospace engineering alumnus honored with Kautz Master Alumni Award