Ray Conner, the former Vice Chairman of The Boeing Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, has been hired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) as an Operating Advisor.
Mr. Conner joins CD&R after a 40-year career at Boeing, where he started as a 727 mechanic and rose to become Vice Chairman. Most recently, he led the implementation of “One Boeing,” a strategic initiative that created a single integrated services business and commercial airplanes product developer.
“Ray is a gifted leader with a distinguished record of accomplishment in a variety of senior executive positions and extensive experience implementing enterprise-wide transformation on a global basis,” said Donald Gogel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CD&R. “We expect to call on Ray’s wisdom, operational insights, and deep industry networks to inform our investment judgments and support our portfolio companies as they execute their business plans.”
CD&R invests in European and US-based businesses. Since founding in 1978, the firm has invested $27 billion in 81 companies across a range of industries with a total transaction value of approximately $125 billion. CD&R was founded in 1978 and is based in New York and London (www.cdr-inc.com).
“I can’t think of a finer investment firm to associate with,” said Mr. Conner. “CD&R’s performance culture, strong values, and distinctive approach to building long-term sustainable value match the priorities I have aspired to throughout my career.”
Mr. Conner held many senior executive positions at Boeing, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the company’s largest division. Prior to that, he led Sales, Marketing and Commercial Services and served as Vice President and General Manager of Supply Chain Management and Operations within the company’s Commercial Airplanes division. Earlier in his career at Boeing he was Vice President and General Manager of many of the company’s aircraft programs and was also Vice President of its Propulsion Systems Division.
Mr. Conner earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University and an MBA from the University of Puget Sound.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 28, 2018
