CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE:
BA] today named Phil Musser as the
company's next senior vice president of communications, succeeding
Tom Downey, who has announced plans
to step down from the role late this month and retire from the
company early next year.
Musser, 45, has more than 20 years of strategic communications
and public relations experience, including 10 years as a consultant
to Boeing. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of IMGE,
an Alexandria, Virginia-based
digital communications firm he co-founded in 2013. He will join
Boeing Sept. 25, reporting to
Chairman, President and CEO Dennis
Muilenburg and will move into Downey's place on the
company's executive council. He will be based in Chicago.
"Phil is a seasoned and highly respected executive who knows
Boeing well and brings to us an exceptionally broad and relevant
set of communications experiences, capabilities and insights," said
Muilenburg. "He is a creative, strategic and energetic leader who
understands the scale of our brand and how to inspire confidence
and support among our many important stakeholders. He also has a
passion for engaging our people, shaping culture and investing in
talent for the future. He is the right choice to lead our
world-class communications team into Boeing's second century,"
Muilenburg added.
Downey is the longest-serving Boeing communications chief since
the company reshaped itself through a series of mergers and
acquisitions in the late 1990s. During his tenure, he led the
company's integrated communications initiatives, coordinating all
internal and external activities to support Boeing's business
strategies. He successfully guided the company through a wide range
of brand and reputation issues, including challenging new
commercial jetliner programs, major defense and space campaigns,
multiple plant site selections, labor negotiations, and the U.S.
trade case against illegal European airplane subsidies. He also was
the architect of the company's 2016 centennial program.
"Tom is one-of-a-kind, an incredible teammate, consummate
partner, and genuine leader for our company," said Muilenburg.
"While words are his thing, it's hard to find enough of them to
express our gratitude for all he has done for our company and our
people over the past 31 years. Day and night, coast to coast,
around the globe, across every area of our business, he was working
to protect and strengthen our brand and building an outstanding
Communications team. We are sorry to see him go, but know he will
ensure a smooth transition before taking a well-earned retirement.
He built a strong and lasting foundation to accelerate our path
forward in Boeing's second century, and for that he has our
enduring thanks."
Prior to his role as the co-founder of IMGE, Musser was the
executive director of the Republican Governor's Association and a
senior vice president of Dutko Worldwide, a leading bi-partisan
public policy management firm. He also served as deputy chief of
staff and senior policy advisor of the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development during the second Bush Administration and was
a deputy director of the 2004 G-8 Summit in Sea Island, Ga., for the U.S. Department of
State. He holds a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College.
Downey began his career with the company in 1986 on fighter jet
programs in St. Louis, at what was
then McDonnell Douglas, which merged
with Boeing in 1997. He would go on to lead the communications arms
of the commercial airplanes and defense and space businesses at
both McDonnell Douglas and Boeing,
working directly with seven past Boeing and McDonnell Douglas CEOs.
He is a graduate of Saint Louis
University.
Contact:
John Dern
Boeing Communications: (312) 544-2002
Follow us on Twitter: @Boeing
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boeing-names-musser-to-top-communications-post-300515872.html
SOURCE Boeing