Edward R. Cowles
Edward Cowles, a Connecticut native, retired as director of International Communications for United Technologies Corporation (UTC), where he served in various public relations and corporate communications positions for more than 30 years.
He and his wife, Jean, have lived in the Stuart area since 1997.
For many years, Ed was director of public relations for UTC’s Pratt & Whitney division where he was the company’s chief spokesman. During the mid-1970s, he was in charge of public relations at Pratt & Whitney’s Government Products division in West Palm Beach, where Pratt & Whitney developed fighter jet engines and rockets for the space program.
Before joining UTC in 1965, he was a newspaper reporter in Connecticut and a reporter and editor with United Press International.
Ed is a leadership volunteer and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Martin County Chapter of the American Red Cross and on the board of the Morgade Library. He has served on various civic boards and committees in Connecticut and twice was director of the industrial section of the Greater Hartford United Way campaign. For more than 20 years, he was a member of the National Ski Patrol and on the patrol at Okemo Mountain, Vermont.
While director of international communications at UTC, Ed managed public relations agencies in 22 countries and, as the company’s spokesman outside the United States, traveled extensively, especially in Europe and Asia.
Ed and Jean have two married sons.