Sir Michael Arthur, John Slattery and B. Marc Allen (left, middle, right) have all been named to new senior positions at Boeing. (Boeing)
Boeing has named three executives to new positions, allowing it to set up leadership of the Embraer partnership the company took on over the last year.
Under the terms of two separate joint ventures, which have been going through the approval process, Boeing is taking an 80 percent ownership stake in Embraer’s commercial assets and a 49 percent interest in certain military assets, notably the KC-390 transport.
Effective April 22, B. Marc Allen will become a senior vice president at Boeing and the president of the Embraer Partnership and Group Operations. Allen is currently the president of Boeing International, a role he has held for the last four years.
The 45-year-old Allen will be responsible for both the integration of Embraer operations into Boeing’s strategies and the financial performance of those Embraer assets. He will chair the board of the newly created Boeing-Embraer commercial company once the deal has closed — expected to be later in 2019 — and will be the lead Boeing representative for the KC-390 board of directors.
As he moves from Boeing International to the Embraer job, Allen will continue to serve on Boeing’s executive council and report directly to Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg.
John Slattery, 50, has been selected by Boeing to serve as the president and chief executive of the commercial joint venture. The position requires approval by the joint venture’s board of directors. Slattery currently serves as president and chief executive of commercial aviation at Embraer, so the move will keep him in a similar role as the company changes. Slattery will work in Brazil and report to Allen.
“This joint venture will be one of the most significant partnerships in the commercial aviation industry and John is the right person to lead it,” said Boeing CFO Greg Smith. “He brings a tremendous customer focus, depth of knowledge and industry respect to the role, combined with a passion for innovation and vision for the future of Brazil’s commercial aviation industry.”
Boeing also named Allen’s replacement as president of Boeing International. Current managing director of Boeing U.K. and Ireland, Sir Michael Arthur will succeed him, in which capacity he will also join the company’s executive council — the first non-U.S. citizen to do so. The 68-year-old Brit will work jointly out of London and Arlington, Virginia, and report to Muilenburg as he oversees 18 regional Boeing regional offices and heads up global operations.
“Sir Michael Arthur is a leading voice on international issues and has been key to helping Boeing become a more global company in recent years,” Muilenburg said in a statement. “Leveraging insights and relationships that he’s developed over decades, Sir Michael’s elevation to our senior-most ranks will further accelerate our progress toward becoming not only the leader in aerospace but a global industrial champion.”
Boeing has lately been caught up in turmoil over its bestselling 737 MAX jets, which are grounded worldwide after two high-profile crashes, but the company’s stock is still up more than 13 percent year-to-date coming off a strong 2018, and it continues to succeed on the military front — it just signed a contract for 78 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets — and progress on the Embraer partnership as it endeavors to round out its offerings.