Boeing commercial aircraft management structure revamp
Aeroplane giant Boeing’s commercial aircraft division’s management structure is being overhauled, creating a new supply chain oversight role and reviving a position with responsibility for all Boeing’s commercial aircraft programs.
The changes were announced by Stanley Deal, Chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a 22 April message to employees. Deal said the restructuring would “reshape our organization to reflect the new realities of our business moving forward.”
The revamp comes a day after Boeing announced major changes to its broader corporate management structure.
Due to these changes, vice president of the 737 program Mark Jenks becomes the vice president of airplane programs, a role that, according to Boeing, has previously existed but stayed vacant since 2016.
Jenks’ new position will have him overseeing all commercial aircraft programs, and leaders of 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787 programs will report to him. According to Deal, his responsibilities will include ensuring consistency, best practices and learnings are applied across all of the airplane programs.
Jenks will be succeeded by Boeing vice president of manufacturing, safety, and quality Walt Odisho as the 737 program’s vice president and general manager and head of the Renton production site. The current 737 manufacturing operations leader, Gary McCulley, will take up the role of commercial aircraft vice president of manufacturing and safety.
Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager of commercial aircraft supply chain becoming the head of efforts to integrate Boeing’s internal supply chain with its external supply chain. The internal chain provides components made in-house, while the external chain is composed of some 3,000 suppliers, says Deal’s letter.
Boeing vice-president of fabrication Kim Pastega will now report to Lund, who will report to Deal. Lund and Pastega will work to ensure supply chain “safety, quality, on-time delivery, and cost competitiveness.”
Also, Mike Fleming, a vice-president in charge of the 737 Max return-to-service and the company’s aviation safety efforts will be leading Boeing’s customer support unit based in Seal Beach, California. That change will align Boeing’s 737 return-to-service work with its customer support efforts, Deal says.
Other changes include Kent Fisher becoming a chief financial officer of the commercial aircraft business, and Kevin Schemm moving to the role of senior vice president of Boeing enterprise finance.