Boeing Names Mark Jenks as New 787 Chief

By Jon Ostrower 

Boeing Co. on Friday named Mark Jenks to lead its flagship 787 Dreamliner program following the July 31 retirement of Larry Loftis, a company veteran credited with transforming its jet-manufacturing operations.

Mr. Jenks will become vice president and general manager of the 787 program, and faces the challenge of moving the Dreamliner toward profitability on each delivery by cutting costs and shrinking the $27.7 billion in combined unit losses that have accumulated during production.

The executive has been involved since the early days of the program, overseeing the development of two larger models of the original plane, and in January was named deputy general manager.

Boeing has been aggressively working to reduce the cost to build its Dreamliner, which still costs around $26 million more to build than its average sale price, according to Credit Suisse. Boeing anticipates the program will turn cash positive late this year and it expects to generate a profit on each jet after it accelerates production to 12 a month in 2016.

The company's accounting treatment allows it to spread the high costs of building early jets across a block of 1,300 deliveries, deferring those production costs and recording future profits on today's earnings.

Mr. Loftis, the outgoing program chief, took over Boeing's expensive advanced new jetliner program in 2012 as the company worked to smooth and accelerate production of the mostly carbon fiber composite aircraft. Mr. Loftis was instrumental during his 35-year career at Boeing with shaping efforts toward lean manufacturing, helping to make its single-aisle 737 and long-range 777 jetliners the company's most profitable commercial jets today.

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