James McNerney

Walter James "Jim" McNerney Jr. (born August 22, 1949) is a business executive who was President and CEO of The Boeing Company, June 2005–July 2015. McNerney was also Chairman from June 2005 until March 1, 2016. McNerney oversaw development of the Boeing 737 MAX. Education McNerney was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois in 1967. He attended Yale University, receiving a B.A. degree in 1971. While at Yale, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and excelled in baseball and hockey. After graduating from Yale, he worked for a year at both British United Provident and G.D. Searle, LLC, then attended Harvard Business School, receiving a Master of Business Administration in 1975. Career McNerney began his business career at Procter & Gamble in 1975, working in brand management. He worked as a management consultant at McKinsey from 1978 to 1982. McNerney joined General Electric in 1982. There, he held top executive positions including president and CEO of GE Aircraft Engines and GE Lighting; president of GE Asia-Pacific; president and CEO of GE Electrical Distribution and Control; executive vice president of GE Capital, one of the world's largest financial service companies; and president of GE Information Services. McNerney competed with Robert Nardelli and Jeff Immelt to succeed the retiring Jack Welch as chairman and CEO of General Electric. When Immelt won the three-way race, McNerney and Nardelli left GE (as was Welch's plan); McNerney was hired by 3M in 2001.