Stellar Solutions Change Agent Craig Fairlee to Receive Baldrige Foundation Leadership Award

Retired CFO and Baldrige Quality advocate honored for redesigning business operations to achieve transformative growth and opportunity

LOS ALTOS, Calif., Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Craig Fairlee, longtime CFO at Stellar Solutions, Inc., has been honored by the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Inc. with the Baldrige Foundation Leadership Award of 2025. Fairlee, who joined the global aerospace services company in 2014 and recently retired as CFO, positioned it for transformative growth while sustaining its three-decades commitment to meeting customers' critical needs and ensuring that its employees are in their dream jobs.

"Craig has been a visionary catalyst in Stellar Solutions' success. From initiating our engagement with Baldrige quality standards, to redesigning our business processes for efficiency, to deepening our culture of entrepreneurial innovation, Craig has ensured that our company anticipate and meet the opportunities for the thriving aerospace community," said Janet Grondin, Stellar Solutions CEO.

"The Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence is an honor of a lifetime. It has been my privilege to work at the nexus of quality and excellence between the Baldrige Foundation and Stellar Solutions. Each exemplifies and encourages the very best intentions, systems and outcomes for our corporations and the people who drive their success," Fairlee said.

The Foundation Awards for Leadership Excellence were established to recognize leaders who provide exceptional support to Baldrige and the Foundation's mission, helping to sustain Baldrige into the future, and promoting the positive impact of Baldrige on organizational and community success. Fairlee is being honored for his accomplishments in the Business sector.

Al Faber, President and CEO of the Foundation, praised Fairlee, saying, "For many years Craig has embodied Baldrige leadership and management values and principles, and has provided outstanding service to the Baldrige community and beyond."

In serving Stellar's customers across defense, intel, commercial, civil and international realms, Fairlee cultivated excellence and agility among Stellar's systems engineers and business experts. Over the last decade, Fairlee's strategies and leadership resulted in substantial growth among its employees, customers and revenues. He enabled this while adhering to Stellar's enduring vision for employee and customer satisfaction. Stellar's 2024 annual survey found that 99% of customers said they are satisfied; 97% said that they would refer Stellar to others; and 98% said that Stellar employees are satisfying their critical needs. 

On the employee side, 84% are in their dream jobs or working toward them. Stellar continues to achieve pre-eminent listing in Fortune Best Medium Workplaces™ 2024; 2024 PEOPLE® Companies that Care; and Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials™ 2024 (Small And Medium).

Stellar Solutions was bestowed the National Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in 2017, which led to the company's support and mentorship of other companies seeking Baldrige quality over the years. Stellar Solutions Founder and Board Chair Celeste Ford was named a recipient of the E. David Spong Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

The Foundation's Leadership Awards will be presented during the Foundation Awards Ceremony held as part of the annual Quest for Excellence® conference in Baltimore, MD on April 1, 2025.

About The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award:
The Baldrige Foundation was created as the private partner to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program in 1988. Its mission is to ensure the long-term financial viability of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and to support organizational performance excellence throughout the U.S. and the world. The Baldrige Program located at NIST within the US Department of Commerce, is a separate entity and is solely responsible for managing and administering the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. For more information on the Baldrige Award process please visit: https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-award.

About Stellar Solutions, Inc.: Stellar Solutions, Inc. is a global aerospace and systems engineering services provider to commercial, defense, intelligence, civil and international sectors. Stellar Solutions provides systems engineering capabilities and strategic support for global communications, remote sensing, national defense, and space exploration. These solutions to customer critical needs connect technology and customers across multiple domains. With physical operations throughout the U.S. and around the globe, Stellar Solutions is a recognized leader in delivering end-to-end critical expertise and problem-solving skills. https://www.stellarsolutions.com

Media contact: Lynthia Romney, [email protected] 914-589-2140

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SOURCE Stellar Solutions