James Aaron Bell (born June 4, 1948) is a retired American executive of

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

. Bell is a retired president, executive vice president and

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

. He served as interim

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Boeing Company in March 2005, following the resignation of Harry Stonecipher. He returned to his singular role as Boeing's CFO on June 30, 2005, following the appointment of Jim McNerney as the new

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

, and

of the

Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

. He was appointed corporate president in June 2008. He currently serves in the board of directors of

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer ...

Early life

On June 4, 1948, Bell was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Bell was the youngest of four children. Bell's mother Mamie was a former

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

government clerk. His father died in 2003.

Education

In 1971, Bell earned his bachelor's degree in

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

. A partial scholarship helped pay for his first year of college, but he had to earn enough to pay his way through the remainder of school.

Career

In 1972 he joined the Rockwell company as an accountant. At that company he followed a path into

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

, from corporate senior internal

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

to accounting manager and finally as manager of general and cost accounting. He joined Boeing in 1996 when Rockwell's aerospace and defense units were acquired. Within Boeing, he has held positions as vice president of contracts and pricing for the company's Space and Communications Division. He later became senior vice president of finance and corporate controller. In November 2004 he became the company's

, following the firing of Michael M. Sears due to a government contract scandal. He is a member of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of J. P. Morgan Chase,

Dow Chemical The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...

Company, the Chicago Urban League, World Business Chicago, the Chicago Economic Club, New Leaders for New Schools and

. Bell retired from the Boeing Company effective April 1, 2012. On February 1, 2012, Greg Smith succeeded Bell as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Boeing Company.Feb 1, 2012. ''Boeing CFO James Bell Announces April 2012 Retirement''

Career path

Awards

In 2004, at the 32nd Alumni Awards Gala, Bell was the recipient of

's Distinguished Alumnus or Alumna of the College of Business and Economics.

Personal

Bell and his wife, Mary, have two children, Champagne and Sean.32nd Alumni Awards Gala (2004) Biography His campaign contributions were to Democratic party politicians.

References

External links

James A. Bell executive biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James A. American chief executives of manufacturing companies American chief financial officers Boeing people Businesspeople from Illinois California State University, Los Angeles alumni Directors of Dow Inc. Directors of Apple Inc. 1948 births Living people