Boeing names new executives in four areas

Appointments strengthen international presence

BY MAUREEN JENKINS

Helping lead the way overseas These four new country executives help Boeing strengthen its presence abroad.

As part of its efforts to increase its presence and drive revenue growth in key international markets, Boeing has recently appointed four new country executives who will coordinate all company business activities in Russia/Commonwealth of Independent States, Australia, Turkey and Southeast Asia.

These four executives join the five other country and regional leaders previously appointed for Africa, Spain, Italy, Japan and Korea.

The appointment of Andrew Peacock in Australia was critical, said Tom Pickering, Boeing senior vice president of International Relations, calling the country a “benchmark location” for Boeing. It’s a place where Boeing has, through mergers and acquisitions, been involved with aircraft and defense businesses for 75 years—and a place with strong growth potential.

“We were extremely lucky to find someone in Australia who has tremendous interest in what Boeing is doing,” he said, “but has broad experience in the Australian government.”

The Russia appointment “is also a top-drawer location for Boeing,” Pickering said. The country has figured strategically in company plans for years, as it’s a partner in the International Space Station and Sea Launch. It’s also home to a Boeing Technology and Design Center in Moscow, where Russian engineers work with teams of Boeing engineers in Seattle on paperless aircraft design—which Pickering said “helps support jobs in America and elsewhere by helping us to work at very competitive costs.”

Boeing also plans to explore expanded airplane support and maintenance operations in Russia, as well as to sell single-aisle and widebody airplanes to Russian carriers such as Aeroflot that need to upgrade their fleets in order to meet worldwide environmental standards.

Turkey continues to be a strategic commercial and military customer, Pickering said. In June, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries signed a $1 billion–plus contract with Boeing for the design and development of a state-of-the-art 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control system Australia also is purchasing. The contract calls for four 737 AEW&C aircraft, plus a ground support segment for mission crew training, mission support and system-maintenance support.

“We look at Turkey as having a strong position in aviation for the future,” Pickering said.

By naming Paul Walters regional leader in Southeast Asia, Boeing hopes to build strong governmental ties with key nations.

“In most of these countries, we have the potential for some strong future Boeing business,” Pickering said. Walters will help the company “strengthen and solidify the contacts he has developed over many years and also help us develop a strong presence and strategy in the region,” he added.

Pickering hopes to name additional executives—including those for the United Kingdom, Germany and France, as well as a European Union liaison—by year’s end. His goal is to have 20 in-country and five regional executives by the end of 2003.

Below are snapshots of the most recent country and regional leaders:

Sergey Kravchenko was named president of Boeing-Russia/CIS in August. He will coordinate all Boeing business activities in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other countries within the CIS, directing a country team composed of business unit leaders from across the company.

Kravchenko’s appointment follows a 10-year career with Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where he most recently served as vice president of Cooperative Programs and Business Development for Russia/CIS. He was the first deputy director of the Boeing Technology and Design Center in Moscow, and helped establish the company’s first office and operations in this region. Before joining Boeing, Kravchenko worked as a professor and lead scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The holder of two doctorate degrees, in applied mechanics and mechanical engineering, he also holds more than 20 patents.

Andrew Peacock will coordinate all company activities in Australia from a new corporate headquarters in Sydney. An important piece of the company’s globalization strategy, Boeing-Australia employs about 3,000 people, the largest employee base outside the United States. The president of Boeing-Australia, Peacock spent 29 years in the Australian Federal Parliament, served as Foreign Minister and in numerous other cabinet positions, and also served as his country’s ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2000.

After returning from Washington, D.C., Peacock—who holds a law degree from the University of Melbourne—led his own international consulting firm and held a number of non-executive company directorships. A native of Melbourne, Peacock was made a Companion in the Order of Australia in 1997—the country’s highest civilian honor.

Gregory Pepin was named president of Boeing-Turkey last month. Pepin, who established the company’s office in Ankara, Turkey, had been serving as the company’s general manager in that country. Before joining Boeing in 1999, Pepin enjoyed a diverse career in the U.S. military, both within the United States and abroad. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he entered the U.S. Army and held various Field Artillery assignments.

Pepin was first assigned to Turkey in 1975, when he was stationed at Corlu as a liaison officer to the Turkish army. He later served three more assignments in the country, and spent a total of six years with the Joint United States Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (now the Office of Defense Cooperation-Turkey) between 1981 and 1994. During his third tour of duty in Turkey, he was assigned to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Syria and Egypt. He spent his final assignment in Turkey as the Army attaché at the U.S. embassy in Ankara. In the early ‘90s, Pepin also served in Operation Desert Storm, performing artillery duties with the First Marine Division.

The Washington state native’s numerous decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and Defense Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. Pepin holds a Master of Arts degree in International Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He speaks, reads and writes fluent Turkish.

Paul T. Walters was named regional vice president of Southeast Asia in August. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the Boeing–Southeast Asia headquarters, he will coordinate all company business activities in Malaysia and a number of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Before being named to this post, Walters was vice president for Asia of Boeing Space Systems International Service Company, a Kuala Lumpur–based Boeing subsidiary. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Walters’ career in the U.S. Foreign Service spanned a diverse range of senior commercial and economic assignments in American embassies in Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Indonesia. He also served as an International Economist for the U.S. State Department. Walters retired from the Senior Foreign Service in 1995, eventually joining Hughes Electronics International Corp. in 1996 as Southeast Asia regional director for Telecommunications Business Development. (Boeing purchased Hughes Space and Communications in October 2000.) Walters speaks Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and Vietnamese.