Philip M. Condit
Encyclopedia
Philip Murray Condit is an American
businessman who was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of the Boeing
company from 1996 to 2003.
, and became an aviation enthusiast at an early age, earning his pilot's certificate at age 18. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering
from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1963, a master's degree
in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University
in 1965, a Master's in Management from the Sloan Fellows
program of the MIT Sloan School of Management
in 1975, and a Ph.D.
in engineering from the Science University of Tokyo
. (He is the first westerner to earn such a degree from that institution.)
program (SST). The same year he was awarded a patent
for a flexible wing design called a "sailwing". In 1968, he became a lead engineer on the Boeing 747
high-speed configuration. He advanced into management within a year, then became manager of the Boeing 727
marketing in 1973.
In 1974, he entered the Sloan Fellows
program at the MIT Sloan School of Management
, where he completed his Master's degree in Management (M.B.A.) a year later. He returned to Boeing as manager of new program planning. He then advanced to director of program management for the 707
/727/737
division in 1976, and 757
chief program engineer in 1978, then director of 757 engineering in 1981.
Condit later became vice president and general manager of the 757 division in 1983; vice president of the Renton
division the same year, and vice president of sales and marketing for Boeing Commercial Aircraft Company (BCAC) in 1984. In 1986, he was named as executive vice president and general manager of BCAC, then executive VP and general manager of the 777
program division.
. This occurred due to an investigation of a former procurement staffer, Darleen Druyun
, over corruption charges; he offered her work at Boeing while she was still a U.S. Government employee, a violation of Boeing ethics. Boeing CFO Michael M. Sears
also had a part in Ms. Druyun's hiring and was subsequently fired.
and Hughes Space & Communications
, then performed a merger with the McDonnell Douglas
company in 1997. However, his tenure as head of the company was not viewed as being very successful. He underestimated the competitive threat posed by Airbus
, and the company suffered from manufacturing and accounting problems.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman who was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(CEO) of the Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
company from 1996 to 2003.
Education
He was born in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, and became an aviation enthusiast at an early age, earning his pilot's certificate at age 18. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1963, a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1965, a Master's in Management from the Sloan Fellows
Sloan Fellows
The Sloan Fellows program is a mid-career master's degree in general management and leadership supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It is targeted at experienced managers who have already demonstrated a significant degree of career success . Alfred P...
program of the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
in 1975, and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in engineering from the Science University of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. (He is the first westerner to earn such a degree from that institution.)
Boeing career
Phil Condit joined the Boeing company in 1965 as an aerodynamics engineer, and worked on the since-canceled Supersonic TransportSupersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
program (SST). The same year he was awarded a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for a flexible wing design called a "sailwing". In 1968, he became a lead engineer on the Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
high-speed configuration. He advanced into management within a year, then became manager of the Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
marketing in 1973.
In 1974, he entered the Sloan Fellows
Sloan Fellows
The Sloan Fellows program is a mid-career master's degree in general management and leadership supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It is targeted at experienced managers who have already demonstrated a significant degree of career success . Alfred P...
program at the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
, where he completed his Master's degree in Management (M.B.A.) a year later. He returned to Boeing as manager of new program planning. He then advanced to director of program management for the 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
/727/737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
division in 1976, and 757
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
chief program engineer in 1978, then director of 757 engineering in 1981.
Condit later became vice president and general manager of the 757 division in 1983; vice president of the Renton
Renton, Washington
Renton is an Eastside edge city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington. Founded in the 1860s, Renton became a supply town for the Newcastle coal fields...
division the same year, and vice president of sales and marketing for Boeing Commercial Aircraft Company (BCAC) in 1984. In 1986, he was named as executive vice president and general manager of BCAC, then executive VP and general manager of the 777
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
program division.
Chairman and retirement
In 1996, he was elected president of Boeing, and a member of the board of directors. In 1997, he was elected chairman, becoming the seventh chairman since the company was founded. He remained in this position until resigning on 1 December 2003, followed by retirement in March 2004. His resignation was forced over the fallout from the freezing of a tanker contract with the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. This occurred due to an investigation of a former procurement staffer, Darleen Druyun
Darleen Druyun
Darleen A. Druyun is a former United States Air Force civilian official and Boeing executive.-Education:...
, over corruption charges; he offered her work at Boeing while she was still a U.S. Government employee, a violation of Boeing ethics. Boeing CFO Michael M. Sears
Michael M. Sears
Michael M. Sears is a former Boeing executive.In 1992 Mr. Sears led the successful development of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, cited as the best managed aircraft program in U.S. Department of Defense history. In 1997, Mr. Sears was President of the Douglas Aircraft Company division of McDonnell...
also had a part in Ms. Druyun's hiring and was subsequently fired.
Mergers and acquisitions
During his period as head of the company, the company made several mergers and acquisitions. The company acquired Rockwell AerospaceRockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
and Hughes Space & Communications
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
, then performed a merger with the McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
company in 1997. However, his tenure as head of the company was not viewed as being very successful. He underestimated the competitive threat posed by Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
, and the company suffered from manufacturing and accounting problems.
Personal life
Condit has been married four times. The second was to a company employee and a third was to his first cousin, Jan Condit. For his fourth marriage, Phil wed Geda Maso.Awards
- Kokusai Shimin Sho (International Citizens Award), Japan America Society, 1997.
- Chief Executive Officer of the Year, Financial World, 1997.
- Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award, 1997.
- Peter F. Drucker Strategic Leadership Award, 1998.
- Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, University of California, Berkeley, 1998.
- Distinguished Eagle Award, Air Command and Staff College, 1999.
- International von Karman Wings Award, The Aerospace Historical Society, 1999.
External links
- Philip M. Condit executive biography, on which much of this article is based.
- http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_50/b3862001_mz001.htm Business Week on What Really Happened to Phil Condit