Lisa Atherton to Succeed Scott Donnelly as Textron CEO

Textron‘s board has selected Lisa Atherton, president and CEO of the industrial conglomerate’s Bell subsidiary, to succeed Scott Donnelly as president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 4.

Textron said Wednesday the leadership transition will see Scott Donnelly, who has been with the company for the past 17 years, become executive chairman of the board and Atherton join the board upon assuming the chief executive position.

R. Kerry Clark, Textron’s lead director, highlighted the company’s succession planning process in naming Atherton as the next CEO.

“As a member of Textron’s executive leadership team for over 8 years, we witnessed Lisa play a key role in driving growth across her businesses and winning critical programs. On behalf of the Board, we look forward to working with her even more closely as she leads the company through this next phase of execution,” Clark said.

Who Is Lisa Atherton?

Atherton has spent 18 years at Textron in various leadership roles across multiple businesses and functions.

In April 2023, she took the helm of Bell after serving as chief operating officer at the helicopter manufacturer.

The U.S. Air Force Academy graduate served as president and CEO of Textron Systems from 2017 to 2023. She previously led Bell’s military business as executive vice president.

Before Textron, she spent eight years at Air Combat Command’s requirements directorate and served as a contracting officer within the U.S. Air Force.

Atherton said she is excited to become president and CEO of Textron and looks forward to working with Donnelly, the board and the company’s global teams to deliver innovative technologies to customers and generate value for shareholders.

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