Boeing on Monday named a new head of its troubled commercial aviation division, plagued by the much-delayed 787 Dreamliner program.
Boeing said Jim Albaugh, head of the company’s defense unit, would succeed Scott Carson yesterday at the helm of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA).
Albaugh, 59, is president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
PHOTO: AFP
Carson, 63, who has been the president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes since 2006, will retire at the end of the year, the US aerospace giant said in a statement.
“Jim is a seasoned and effective aerospace executive with substantial experience leading and integrating technically complex businesses and programs from initial development through full production and delivery,” Boeing chairman, president and chief executive Jim McNerney said.
“His program management and engineering focus will help ensure the success of BCA’s key development and production programs,” McNerney said.
The initial activities of Albaugh, a 34-year Boeing veteran, will center on “getting the team going” and “focusing on some customer-related activities,” McNerney said in a conference call with reporters and analysts.
McNerney said Carson had chosen to announce his retirement at this time after Boeing last week unveiled a new schedule for the fuel-efficient 787’s first test flight and first delivery. “We’ve set a new course,” he said.
“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,” McNerney said.
Carson will be working on a transition with Albaugh and on special projects until his retirement, the company said.
The management shuffle came after Boeing said last Thursday that its 787 Dreamliner airplane would be delivered to Japanese launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) late next year.
Boeing launched the Dreamliner program in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first airplane to ANA in the first half of last year.
Boeing said the new schedule reflected a previously announced need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft and an additional several weeks needed to reduce flight test and certification risk.
ANA and Australia’s Qantas, another 787 customer, both expressed frustration at the latest delay in a calendar that has been pushed back five times.
The 787 aircraft is seen as key to the US aerospace giant’s future. The company says it will use 20 percent less fuel than today’s airplanes of comparable size.
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