Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson Announces Retirement

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson announced on Monday that he will retire from the company at the end of the year.

Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney has named Jim Albaugh, 59, to Carson's leadership role at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), and Dennis Muilenburg, 45, to succeed Albaugh as president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). Both appointments are effective today, 1 September 2009.

Carson, 63, has led BCA since 2006 after two years heading up the unit's sales organization, where he was credited with reinvigorating sales of Boeing commercial airplanes and related services to airline customers and leasing companies around the world.

He previously served as BCA's executive vice president and chief financial officer, where he led the finance and business strategy organizations, as well as information systems and services. He also held leadership positions in the company's defense business and was the first president of Connexion by Boeing.

"The Boeing board of directors and I appreciate Scott's long record of accomplishment across many disciplines, functions and businesses, and the enduring contributions he has made to Boeing through 38 years of service," said McNerney. "Thanks to his leadership and operational experience, Boeing Commercial Airplanes has performed extremely well in a tough business environment and remains positioned solidly for continued market success."

McNerney said that Carson and Albaugh will work together to ensure a smooth transition of customer and other business relationships, and that Carson will also assist on special projects for the company through year end. He will continue to lead the United Way of King County's 2009-2010 fund-raising campaign, even after his retirement.

Albaugh, a 34-year company veteran with extensive experience in development programs and manufacturing, has led Boeing's defense, space and associated services businesses since 2002. Under his leadership IDS revenue has grown from $25 billion to an expected $34 billion in 2009, and now accounts for roughly half of Boeing's annual sales.

Prior to his most recent assignment, he led Boeing's growth in space and communications, including network-centric operations, global missile defense, combat systems, and system-of-systems technologies. He began his career with Rockwell's aerospace and defense businesses, which Boeing acquired in 1996.

Muilenburg moves to his new position from Integrated Defense Systems' Global Services & Support unit, where he served as president of the $8 billion business that provides global after-delivery support for military platforms and systems, as well as a broad array of defense and government services.

Prior assignments include leadership of the Combat Systems Division and Future Combat Systems, the company's development program for the U.S. Army. He also led the overall engineering development of Boeing's program to modernize global air traffic management systems.

Albaugh holds bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics from Willamette University, and a master's degree in civil engineering from Columbia University. He is expected to relocate soon to the Seattle area.

Born in Iowa, Muilenburg earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington. He will continue to be based in St. Louis and spend substantial time in the Washington, D.C. area.

At press time, a replacement for Muilenburg had not yet been named.

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