Philip M. Condit

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Philip Murray Condit (born August 2, 1941) - best known as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Boeing company from 1996 to 2003.

He was born in Berkeley, California, and became an aviation enthusiast at an early age, earning his pilot's license 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.)

Phil Condit joined the Boeing company in 1965 as an aerodynamics engineer, and worked on the since-cancelled Supersonic Transport 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.

Dr. Condit continued his climb up the executive ladder, becoming 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 to executive vice president and general manager of BCAC, then executive VP and general manager of the 777 program division.

In 1996 he was elected president of Boeing, and a member of the board of directors. Finally, in 1997 he was elected chairman, completing his ascendency to the leadership of the company. He was the seventh chairman since the company was founded. He remained in this position until resigning on December 1, 2003, followed by retirement in March, 2004. His resignation was forced over the fallout from the freezing of a tanker contract with the US Air Force. This occurred due to an investigation of a former procurement staffer, Darleen Druyun, over corruption charges.

During his period as head of the company, the company made several mergers and acquisitions. The company acquired Rockwell Aerospace 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.

Phil Condit has been married four times, including his second marriage to a secretary at the company. He also had a somewhat controversial relationship with a company receptionist. Despite his dalliances, he escaped the fate of his successor, Harry Stonecipher, who resigned due to an affair with a company executive.

[edit] 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.