Brendan Nelson Appointed President of Boeing International; Maria Fernandez to Head Oceania Region

(05/12/22)  Boeing has appointed Dr. Brendan Nelson AO as President of Boeing International (BI).

The former Australian diplomat and government minister will lead the company's international strategy and corporate operations when he succeeds Sir Michael Arthur who will retire from Boeing in early 2023 after five decades of service in the public and private sectors, including the past four years at the helm of Boeing International.

Brendan Nelson

Brendan, the second non-U.S. citizen to lead the organization, will join the company's executive council and report to Dave Calhoun, Boeing President and CEO.

An Australian citizen, Brendan has been president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific since February 2020. He will move to London to take up his new role, effective 12 January 2023.

"Brendan brings to his new position vast experience in government and diplomacy, industry and non-profit associations, that will serve us well as we continue to grow as a global company while navigating the dynamics of the geopolitical environment," said Dave Calhoun.

Since joining Boeing in 2014, Sir Michael and Boeing International have worked to expand the company's global business which now has customers in 150 countries and a worldwide supply chain of 20,000 suppliers and partners.

The company operates in 65 different countries, including major operations in Australia, India, the Middle East and United Kingdom, and employs more than 25,000 people outside of the United States who are engaged in design, development, manufacturing, services and support.

"On behalf of our global team, I want to sincerely thank Sir Michael for his tremendous contributions, his tireless service to our customers, employees and industry over the past eight years," added Calhoun.

Brendan will oversee 20 regional offices in key global markets. His responsibilities will include developing the company's growth and productivity initiatives outside the United States, forming new business and industrial partnerships, overseeing international affairs, enhancing Boeing's local presence and providing global functional support.

When he served as Australian Minister of Defence, Brendan oversaw deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Solomon Islands. He later served as Australia's ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO for three years.

Brendan is a long-time and passionate advocate of veterans' affairs and prior to joining Boeing in 2020, he was the director of the Australian War Memorial for seven years.

Maria Fernandez PSM will succeed Brendan as president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific effective 20 December 2022.

As the senior company leader in the Oceania region and board chair of Boeing Australia Holdings, Maria will coordinate Boeing Australia activities, lead government relations and direct the implementation of the company's strategy to expand its local presence and grow the business.

"Maria has had a distinguished career with more than 20 years of leadership experience in the Australian national security sector and was the first woman to lead an Australian intelligence agency. She has the ideal background for this position," said Brendan.

Maria has held senior executive positions in Australia's departments of Home Affairs, Defence, Immigration and Border Protection, and Education.

Prior to joining Boeing, Maria ran a consultancy that provided strategic advisory and independent assurance services to Australian government agencies.

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