The following is an excerpt from a Feb. 24 Forbes magazine story about Wichita State University graduate Leanne Caret. Caret earned a Master’s in Business Administration from WSU in 1990. (Subscription may be required to view full story.)
It turns out Boeing President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg isn’t the only senior executive at the world’s biggest aerospace company who will be getting a promotion on March 1 when he adds Chairman of the Board to his titles.
Boeing disclosed today that its board has also elected Leanne Caret to run the company’s sprawling defense, space and security business, which contributes nearly a third of the company’s revenues. Caret succeeds Chris Chadwick, who decided to retire March 1 after leading BDS (as it is called internally) to the most profitable year in the unit’s history. Boeing contributes to my think tank.
Kansas native Caret, 49, has been a rising star within Boeing since she joined the company in 1988. In recent years she has run the company’s rotorcraft business near Philadelphia and served as Chief Financial Officer of the $30 billion defense and space unit. In her current position as president of Global Services & Support, Caret manages a $9 billion business with 16,000 employees operating at nearly 300 locations worldwide.