Boeing has appointed Dr.
Brendan Nelson AO as President of Boeing
International (BI).
The former Australian diplomat and
government minister will lead the company’s international strategy
and corporate operations when he succeeds Sir Michael Arthur who
will
retire from Boeing in early 2023 after five decades of service in
the public and private sectors, including the past four years at
the helm of Boeing International.
Brendan, the second
non-U.S. citizen to lead the organization, will join the company’s
executive council and report to Dave Calhoun, Boeing
President and CEO.
An Australian citizen, Brendan has been president of Boeing
Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific since February 2020. He
will move to London to take up his new role, effective 12 January
2023.
“Brendan brings to his new position vast experience
in government and diplomacy, industry and non-profit associations,
that will serve us well as we continue to grow as a global company
while navigating the dynamics of the geopolitical environment,”
said Dave Calhoun.
Since joining Boeing in 2014, Sir Michael and
Boeing International have worked to expand the company’s global
business which now has customers in 150
countries and a worldwide supply chain of 20,000 suppliers and
partners.
The company operates in 65 different countries,
including major operations in Australia, India, the Middle East
and United Kingdom, and employs more than 25,000 people outside of
the United States who are engaged in design, development,
manufacturing, services and support.
“On behalf of our
global team, I want to sincerely thank Sir Michael for his
tremendous contributions, his tireless service to our customers,
employees and industry over the past eight years,” added Calhoun.
Brendan will oversee 20 regional offices in key global markets.
His responsibilities will include developing the company’s growth
and productivity initiatives outside the United States, forming
new business and industrial partnerships, overseeing international
affairs, enhancing Boeing’s local presence and providing global
functional support.
When he served as Australian Minister
of Defence, Brendan oversaw deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, East
Timor and Solomon Islands. He later served as Australia’s
ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO for
three years.
Brendan is a long-time and passionate advocate of
veterans’ affairs and prior to joining Boeing in 2020, he was
the director of the Australian War Memorial for seven years.
Maria Fernandez PSM will succeed Brendan as president of Boeing
Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific effective 20 December 2022.
As the senior company leader in the Oceania region and
board chair of Boeing Australia Holdings, Maria
will coordinate Boeing Australia activities, lead government
relations and direct the implementation of the company’s strategy
to expand its local presence and grow the business.
“Maria
has had a distinguished career with more than 20 years of
leadership experience in the Australian national security sector
and was the first woman to lead an Australian intelligence agency.
She has the ideal background for this position,” said
Brendan.
Maria has held senior executive positions in Australia’s
departments of Home Affairs, Defence, Immigration and Border
Protection, and Education.
Prior to joining Boeing, Maria ran a
consultancy that provided strategic advisory and independent
assurance services to Australian government agencies.
