Boeing Co, which has been on the upswing after a series of scandals, was expected to appoint the head of the 3M Co as its new chief executive yesterday, people close to the decision said on Wednesday night.
The 3M chief, James McNerney Jr, 55, has been a director at Boeing since 2001, and would become the third chief executive in about 18 months.
Boeing's board had been actively pursuing candidates over the last few months, winnowing down a list of 20 or so names to a handful of serious contenders.
At the company's annual meeting this spring, Lewis Platt, Boeing's chairman, said that the company had been examining a few candidates both inside and outside the company.
By offering the job to McNerney, the board passed up Alan Mulally, its commercial airplane group leader, and James Albaugh, the head of its integrated military systems division. Both men were respected leaders throughout the aerospace industry.
McNerney was approached early on, a person close to the board said, but it was not until about two weeks ago that he became a serious prospect.
It is awkward, though not unusual, for a longtime director to be considered for the chief executive post, the person said.
"Jim was asked right from the get-go if he would consider, and said, `No, I owe my allegiance to 3M,'" an individual close to the board said Wednesday night. "But at the end of the day, they realized the best leader for their company was McNerney. The directors persuaded him to come to the plate."
This person said that McNerney was persuaded to accept the job by his passion for the airline industry and a desire to leave the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where 3M is based, for Chicago, where Boeing has its headquarters.
McNerney takes over at Boeing at a time when its prospects had been improving under the interim chief, James Bell, who had been the chief financial officer.
The company, which has been prohibited from competing for US Air Force rocket contracts for the last two years, has recently re-entered the business.
Its commercial airline business has also been looking up, and the company has said it is on track to lead the industry in orders. Its 787 Dreamliner is expected to be a hit this year.
However, Boeing, the world's second-largest aerospace company and the Pentagon's No. 2 supplier, faces several challenges.
McNerney must move to compete with Airbus, the largest in the industry, which has enjoyed success in emerging markets. Also, Boeing struggled for a time to recover from its role in an Air Force procurement scandal, the loss of important government contracts and the jailing of two former top executives.
McNerney will take over a position left vacant on March 7 when Harry Stonecipher, who was brought out of retirement to restore the company's credibility, was forced to resign after admitting an affair with a female Boeing executive.
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