DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Lewis B. Campbell will retire as Textron Inc. (TXT) chief
executive on Dec. 1, though he will remain nonexecutive chairman
until 2011.
The diversified industrial company, known for its Bell
helicopters and Cessna jets, tapped President and Chief Operating
Officer Scott Donnelly to succeed Campbell, 63 years old, as chief
executive. Donnelly, 47, is a relatively recent hire, having joined
the company in June 2008 as chief operating officer. He added the
president title in January.
The succession comes at a key time for Textron, which has seen
some signs of stabilization in business conditions after getting
hit with defense cancellations and weak jet demand. The company has
been working over the past few months to strengthen its balance
sheet and shuffling management at its operating units.
"Scott has quickly proven himself an extremely decisive leader
with tremendous strategic vision and operating acuity," Campbell
said. "He led the effort that put the Textron liquidity strategy on
a strong path and spearheaded restructuring initiatives and
operating improvements in our manufacturing businesses during these
recent challenging times."
In after-hours trading, Textron shares were unchanged at $19.20.
The shares have soared from their low of $3.57 in March but remain
off nearly half over the past year.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355;
jay.miller@dowjones.com