James A. Bell

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

Bell is a retired president, executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Boeing Company. He returned to his singular role as Boeing's CFO on June 30, 2005, following the appointment of Jim McNerney as the new president, chairman, and chief executive officer of the Boeing Company.

Early life

On June 4, 1948, Bell was born in Los Angeles, California. Bell was the youngest of four children. Bell's mother Mamie was a former Los Angeles County government clerk. His father died in 2003.

Education In 1971, Bell earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from California State University, Los Angeles. 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.

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.

Career path Job Tenure Company Position From 1972 Rockwell International Accountant Rockwell International Corporate senior internal auditor Rockwell International Accounting manager Until 1996 Rockwell International Manager of general and cost accounting 1996 – 2000 The Boeing Company VP of contracts and pricing; space and communications 2000 – 2004 The Boeing Company Senior VP of finance and corporate controller 2004 – 2005 The Boeing Company Chief financial officer 2005 – 2005 The Boeing Company Chief financial officer; president and CEO 2005 – 2008 The Boeing Company Chief financial officer 2008 – 2011 The Boeing Company CFO and corporate president

Awards In 2004, at the 32nd Alumni Awards Gala, Bell was the recipient of California State University, Los Angeles's Distinguished Alumnus or Alumna of the College of Business and Economics.

Personal Bell and his wife, Mary, have two children, Champagne and Sean. His campaign contributions were to Democratic party politicians.