Boeing names new commercial airplanes chief

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh is retiring and Ray Conner, the company’s top salesman, is replacing him, Boeing announced Tuesday afternoon.

Albaugh, who has led the high-profile unit since September 2009, will retire in October, but Conner is assuming control of BCA effective immediately. Conner’s replacement has not been named.

Both Albaugh, 62, and Conner, 57, joined Boeing in the mid-1970s and ended up playing major roles in the aerospace giant’s nascent South Carolina era. Boeing picked North Charleston a month after Albaugh became BCA’s chief executive, and Conner oversaw development of the South Carolina campus as vice president of supply chain management and operations.

Albaugh will continue as executive vice president until this fall when he will step down after 37 years at the Chicago-based company.

Conner joined Boeing as a mechanic and has managed the 747 and 777 programs over his tenure. In a statement, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney described Conner as BCA’s “natural next leader.”

“Ray’s breadth and depth of experience in commercial airplanes is unmatched in our industry,” said McNerney. “He has built airplanes, sold airplanes, serviced airplanes, managed our largest programs, knows our customers extremely well, and is respected by our employees. He is the natural next leader of our growing commercial airplanes business and this move is consistent with our executive succession plan.”