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

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! 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.

References

  • James A. Bell executive biography