Boeing 787 Exec Steps Down
Updated from Aug. 31.
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Boeing
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executive is stepping down as the company continues to battle through continuing delays in its once vaunted 787 program.
The aircraft maker said Monday that Scott Carson, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will step down Tuesday and will retire at the end of the year. The announcement comes four days after Boeing announced a new timeline for 787 development. First delivery is now scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010, which is two and a half years late.
Jim Albaugh, the 59-year-old-CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, will replace Carson.
Carson, 63, and a 38-year Boeing veteran, has led BCA since 2006 after spending two years as head of the unit's sales organization. It was a flush period for aircraft sales, and Carson was credited with improving Boeing's sales around the world. He has also been CFO of BCA and an executive at IDS.
"The decision to retire was Scott's, and he said it was based on many factors," said CEO Jim McNerney, on a conference call. "The most important was resetting the 787 schedule last week and giving his successor a clear path forward on the program.
McNerney said Carson "wanted to retire after we had reset this thing." He called Albaugh "a technical guy (with) a deep appreciation for the kind of oversight we need" and said "speed and accountability are two of his hallmarks." He said Boeing had a succession plan in place when Carson's desire to retire became known.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson |
In some ways, the Carson retirement resembles the last shake-up in management of the 787 program.
In October 2007, a week after it said the first 787 delivery would be pushed back by six months, from May 2008 until November or December of that year, Boeing named an IDS executive to replace Mike Bair as general manager of the 787 program. Pat Shanahan, who had been vice president for missile defense systems, took over for Bair.
"Given the challenges that BCA has had over the last couple of years, we think it is unsurprising that Scott Carson is stepping down, wrote Macquarie Securities analyst Rob Stallard, in a report Monday. "Where we are surprised is in Boeing's choice of successor, given Jim Albaugh's lack of experience in commercial aerospace, and the less-than-perfect track record that IDS has had in program execution and wins over the last couple of years under his leadership," Stallard said.
Albaugh, a 34-year company veteran, began his career with Rockwell's aerospace and defense business, which Boeing acquired in 1996. He has led IDS, which includes defense and space businesses, since 2002. During his tenure, IDS revenue grew from $25 billion to an anticipated $34 billion in 2009. The division now accounts for half of Boeing sales. Albaugh has a bachelor's degree from Willamette University and a master's in civil engineering from Columbia University.
McNerney said that Carson and Albaugh will work together to ensure a smooth transition. Dennis Muilenburg, president of the IDS Global Services & Support unit, will replace Albaugh.
Shares of Boeing closed Monday at $49.67, and slipped 7 cents in after-hours trading to $49.60.
-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
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