Boeing names new CEO

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 02, 2003

Boeing names new CEO

The man who will lead Boeing Co. is known as a tough-minded cost-cutter who is unpopular with employees but lauded by shareholders.

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The man who will lead Boeing Co. is known as a tough-minded cost-cutter who is unpopular with employees but lauded by shareholders.

Harry Stonecipher, 67, a former president and chief operating officer of the company, agreed to leave his life of retirement and golf in St. Petersburg, Fla., to take over Boeing following chief executive Phil Condit's resignation Monday. Boeing's board waived a mandatory retirement age of 65 for Stonecipher.

Emphasizing that he shared Condit's philosophy about Boeing's strategic direction, Stonecipher said he plans to focus on helping restore the credibility of the company's defense unit.

Boeing has been engulfed in controversies over alleged unethical conduct in its efforts to win a multibillion-dollar defense deal, leading to the firings of two executives. The Pentagon also has indefinitely banned Boeing from bidding on military satellite-launching contracts as punishment for stealing trade secrets from Lockheed to help win rocket contracts.

Showing the government "that we are not only compliant but an exemplary supplier to them is one of the first and foremost and most immediate tasks I have," Stonecipher said. "This hiccup we had will cause us to have to do a lot of reassuring with the government."

Stonecipher has already started contacting some Congressional representatives. "He's got a major job in turning around the credibility of the Boeing Co.," said Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., who knows both Condit and Stonecipher personally.

The former McDonnell Douglas chief executive will also bring unsentimental financial discipline to his role, analysts said.

His popularity among shareholders isn't surprising, noted independent airline analyst Scott Hamilton, considering Stonecipher is one of the company's largest individual stockholders. Stonecipher holds more than 172,000 shares and another 1.6 million options and deferred shares.

Union representatives said employees aren't cheering about Stonecipher's appointment.

Source: Agencies

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