Lew Platt Named Non-Executive Chairman, Harry Stonecipher Named
President and CEO
After all the
excitement of the last few weeks, especially last week's firings
and further corporate embarassment, the final shoe has dropped.
Phil Condit is OUT at Boeing.
Boeing has announced that its board of directors has accepted
the resignation of Phil Condit, 62, as chairman and CEO.
After thorough deliberations, the board decided that a
new structure for the leadership of the company is needed
and named Lewis E. Platt, 62, as non-executive chairman and Harry
C. Stonecipher, 67, as president and CEO, effective
immediately.
Boeing Statement
Both Platt and
Stonecipher (pictured right) are experienced leaders who are
knowledgeable about the company’s operations and strategy.
Platt has been a member of Boeing’s board of directors for
four years; he is a retired chairman of the board, president and
CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company. Stonecipher retired from Boeing in
2002 after working closely with Condit for five years in several
roles, including vice chairman, president and chief operating
officer. Stonecipher also has served as a Boeing director for six
years.
"Boeing is advancing on several of the most important programs
in its history and I offered my resignation as a way to put the
distractions and controversies of the past year behind us, and to
place the focus on our performance," Condit said. "I am proud of
the strategies that have transformed Boeing into the world’s
largest aerospace company, and I have the highest regard and
respect for Lew and Harry. They each possess the knowledge,
experience and leadership to take this company to the next level. I
will watch the progress of Boeing with great pride."
"The board appreciates
that Phil (pictured right) acted with characteristic dignity and
selflessness in recognizing that his resignation was for the good
of the company," said the new chairman, Lew Platt. "We accepted his
decision with sadness, but also with the knowledge that changes
needed to be made. The board is confident that the new leadership
will bring a renewed focus on execution and performance.
"The board is in unanimous agreement that the company has been
pursuing the right transformation strategy and that Boeing is in
excellent financial condition," he said.
"As the non-executive chairman, I will bring to bear the full
strength and perspective of the board in guiding the company and
assisting Harry in any way he requests. Harry will be responsible
for executing our strategy and running every aspect of the
company," Platt said.
"Boeing has a solid foundation for the future – strong
businesses, valuable assets, and thousands of hard-working,
dedicated people – and we are all deeply grateful to Phil for
his contributions and accomplishments," Stonecipher said.
"We have the right strategy. The task before us is to execute.
We need to strengthen our reputation with our customers, employees,
investors and the communities in which we operate. Lew and I, and
the entire board, are determined that the events of the last year
no longer obscure the company’s strengths or distract us from
what we need to do. Boeing is a great company with tremendous
capabilities to define the future in each of our markets and
deliver consistent, profitable growth," said Stonecipher.
Lew Platt joined Hewlett-Packard in 1966 in the medical products
operations and went on to manage various parts of HP’s
computer business. He became an executive vice president in 1987
and retired in 1999 after serving seven years as chairman, CEO and
president of HP. He was the CEO of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates
from 2000 to mid-2001.
Platt (pictured below center, between Harry Stonecipher on the
left and Condit, on the right) earned his bachelor’s degree
in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and has a
master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton
School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the
boards of 7-Eleven, The Packard Foundation and the Wharton
School.
Harry Stonecipher’s aerospace career spans more than 47
years from his start at General Motors’ Allison Division as a
lab technician to being elected vice chairman of The Boeing Company
in 2001. In 1960, he joined General Electric’s aircraft
engine operations, and progressed through a series of engineering
and program positions, ending up running the division from 1984 to
1987.
In 1987, Stonecipher left GE to join Sundstrand and shortly
thereafter became president and chief operating officer. He became
president and CEO in 1989 and assumed the additional office of
chairman in 1991. During his seven and a half years at Sundstrand,
Stonecipher repaired the company’s seriously damaged customer
relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Stonecipher joined McDonnell Douglas in 1994 as president and
CEO. In his short 33 months at the aerospace company he increased
the financial performance of the enterprise, saw a four-fold
increase in the share price, and led the merger with Boeing in
1997. At completion of the merger, Stonecipher was elected
president and chief operating officer and a member of
Boeing’s board.
He has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Tennessee
Technological University and serves on the board of directors of
PACCAR, Inc.
We'll have more on this and related news later on this
evening...