Boeing Commercial Shuffles 787/777 Leadership Positions

Boeing Commercial Airplanes has named Larry Loftis vice president and general manager of the 787 program, replacing Scott Fancher, who has accepted two new assignments on the 777 program.

“Today we are announcing two leadership changes intended to better align our organization for the challenges ahead,” Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said late Thursday.

Both changes take effect immediately, according to a Boeing statement.

“As this program transitions into production, this appointment will take advantage of Larry's more than 32 years of commercial product experience and knowledge of Boeing's production system," Albaugh said of Loftis’ appointment to the 787 program. Loftis most recently led the 777 program.

Fancher takes over as vice president and general manager of the 777 program, reporting to Pat Shanahan, senior vice president of airplane programs. He'll also work with Lars Andersen, defining the next variant of the 777.

“This will allow us to take advantage of Scott's vast experience on development programs and allow him to align the 777 production system with the next generation 777,” said Albaugh.

Boeing said it would not elaborate on the written statement it issued and that it would make neither executive available for interviews.