James A. Bell

James A. Bell became the interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boeing Company on March, 2005, following the resignation of Harry Stonecipher. With his appointment to the position, he has become the first African-American to lead a major aerospace company and is considered to be the most prominent CEO of African-American descent.

He was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest of four children. His mother Mamie was a former Los Angeles County government clerk. His father died in 2003. He attended California State University, Los Angeles, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Accounting. A partial scholarship helped pay for his first year of college, but he had to earn enough to pay his way through the remainder of school.

In 1972 he joined the Rockwell company as an accountant. At that company he followed a path into management, including corporate senior internal auditor, accounting manager, and manager of general and cost accounting. He joined Boeing in 1996 when Rockwell's aerospace and defense units were acquired.

Within Boeing he has held positions as vice president of contracts and pricing for the company's space and communications division. He later became senior vice president of finance and corporate controller. In November, 2004 he became the company's Chief Financial Officer, following the firing of Michael M. Sears due to a government contract scandal. In this position James Bell was responsible for management of the overall company finances.

External links

• James A. Bell executive biography.