She was an associate counsel in the Obama White House before becoming vice president and general counsel for the company’s Defence, Space, and Security division.
As of April 1, Uma Amuluru, a former Obama White House Counsel, will serve as both the Chief Human Resources Officer and executive vice president of Boeing, the company announced last week. Michael D’Ambrose, who declared his intention to retire in July, is succeeded by the Indian American. She will be on the executive council of Boeing and report to President and CEO David Calhoun.
As per the press release from the company, her new role entails overseeing “Boeing’s talent planning, global talent acquisition, learning and development, compensation and benefits, employee and labour relations, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.”
Amuluru started working for Boeing in 2017 and has been vice present and general counsel for Boeing Defence, Space & Security since early 2023. Before that served as the company’s first chief compliance officer.
She worked for the federal government in a number of senior positions prior to joining Boeing. Her LinkedIn profile states that she “advised on high-profile criminal and law enforcement matters” while serving as counsellor to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. According to the profile, she also served as President Barack Obama’s associate White House counsel, where “she provided legal and strategic advice to senior White House officials on issues involving compliance, oversight and risk management.” She was the District of Columbia’s assistant United States attorney in addition.
Amuluru started out in the legal field representing big businesses in intricate court cases as a commercial litigator. In her roles as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Amuluru defended businesses in state and federal court cases as well as government enforcement actions and investigations. She also worked as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Northern District of Illinois.
She graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree and Northwestern University School of Law with a Juris Doctor. She is currently a member of Legal Aid Chicago’s board of directors.
Lawyer John T. Theis is her husband. According to an August 9, 2008, New York Times wedding announcement, the couple first met at Northwestern, where they both graduated with law degrees. Amuluru was born and raised in New Jersey. Her mother, Dr. Jaladurga Amuluru, was a staff internist at the Veteran Affairs medical clinic in Hackensack, New Jersey, until 2006. The Times reports that Amuluru’s father, Dr. Prabhakar Rao Amuluru, is a cardiac anesthesiologist.
