The general manager of the equipment manufacturer Spirit AeroSystemsTom Gentile, resigned following a series of industrial difficulties, the most recent being poorly drilled holes on the rear pressure bulkhead of the Boeing 737 MAX. He is replaced, on an interim basis, by Patrick Shanahan, a former executive at Boeing.
Tom Gentile was named Spirit’s chief executive officer in August 2016, a few months after joining America’s Spirit AeroSystems as chief operating officer. He oversaw the US company through the 737 MAX crisis and the pandemic, leading plans to diversify the OEM’s business.
But the final months of his tenure were marked by a series of supply chain challenges and production defects, including a two-week work stoppage at the Kansas production plant in June, the discovery of several costly 737 MAX production errors and more than $200 million in losses on component production programs for Airbus and Boeing.
During his 31-year career at Boeing until 2017, Patrick Shanahan was known as “Mr. Fix-It” for its ability to fix poorly performing programs. He was put in charge of developing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2008, at a difficult time in the long-haul program, and became Boeing’s senior vice president of supply chain and operations in 2016.
“I believe Spirit has the assets, know-how and talent to meet extraordinary aviation demand and alleviate global supply chain challenges.“, declared the new interim director general upon his appointment.
