James A. Bell
Executive Vice President
The Boeing Company
Corporate President and Chief Financial Officer
The Boeing Company
James A. Bell is corporate president, chief financial officer and an executive vice president of The Boeing Company, the world's largest aerospace company. He was named as acting CFO in November 2003 and formally elected to the position by the Boeing board of directors in January 2004. From March through June 2005, in addition to his CFO duties Bell served as Boeing president and chief executive officer on an interim basis. He was appointed corporate president in June 2008.
A 36-year Boeing veteran, Bell has extensive experience overseeing business performance and strategic growth initiatives at the Chicago-based integrated aerospace company. As CFO, he is responsible for overall financial management of the company, its financial reporting and transparency, and for multiple corporate functions including Controller, Treasury, investor relations, long-range planning and corporate and strategic development.
In addition to his CFO duties, Bell oversees two key Boeing businesses, Boeing Capital Corporation, the company's customer-financing subsidiary, and Boeing Shared Services, a 10,000-person, multi-billion dollar business unit that provides common internal services across Boeing's global enterprise. He also leads enterprise-wide efforts to continuously improve productivity and competitiveness of the company's business support functions.
Prior to being named CFO in 2003, Bell, 60, held the position of senior vice president of finance and corporate controller. A corporate officer in that position, he also served as the company's principal interface with the board of directors' audit committee.
Previous positions include vice president of contracts and pricing for Boeing Space and Communications, where he oversaw policy direction, acquisition reform, new business opportunities and program performance. He worked closely with the Department of Defense on military space programs and export issues. As a member of the Joint Leadership Council, a Boeing initiative with senior DoD and NASA acquisition executive membership, Bell helped advance government-industry partnership.
Before becoming vice president at the operating group level in 1996, Bell served as director of business management of the Space Station Electric Power System at the Boeing Rocketdyne unit. Bell began his career with Rockwell in 1972 and held positions of increasing responsibility to include corporate senior internal auditor, manager of accounting and manager of general and cost accounting.
A native of Los Angeles, Calif., Bell attended California State University at Los Angeles where he earned a bachelor's degree in Accounting.
He is a member of the board of directors of Dow Chemical Company, the Joffrey Ballet, the Chicago Urban League, World Business Chicago, the Chicago Economic Club and New Leaders for New Schools.
312-544-2002