Spirit AeroSystems Names New CEO

Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (SPR) on Tuesday said it had hired a defense industry veteran as chief executive, overseeing civil aircraft programs that were hit by hefty charges last year because of cost overruns.

The appointment of Larry Lawson from Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) left the world's largest military contractor to reshuffle its ranks again. Three senior executives have announced plans to move on this year.

Mr. Lawson was promoted less than a year ago to run Lockheed's aeronautics division, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program that's come under fire from Pentagon officials because of escalating costs.

Wichita, Kan.-based Spirit is the largest supplier of airframe parts to Boeing Co. (BA), and has diversified since being spun out by the plane maker in 2005 with contracts for Airbus, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Bombardier Inc. and Mitsubishi Aircraft.

Mr. Lawson will take over as CEO from Jeff Turner, who announced plans last November to retire from Spirit, after the company announced in October a $590 million charge because of cost overruns on work for Gulfstream and Boeing. Despite the overruns, Mr. Turner, who has run Boeing's Wichita site since 1995, is widely credited by analysts and industry officials with transitioning Spirit from a unit of Boeing into a major industry supplier.

"The transition in leadership at Spirit may be challenging" for Mr. Lawson, said Sanford C. Bernstein Research analyst Douglas Harned in a client note, citing the executive's background in defense and Spirit's focus on commercial planes.

Spirit has already cautioned that it may try to renegotiate contracts with its largest customers because of the cost problems, and is also wrestling with issues related to its work on the new Airbus A350 jet.

Airbus is looking at buying a Spirit-owned facility in France, according to media reports. The unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. has pointed to the plant in St. Nazaire as a potential bottleneck for its A350 program that's already a year late.

The employs 70 staff and joins carbon-fiber body panels for the A350, which is due to make its first flight this summer.

The factory's problems stem from a spate of late design changes to the aircraft, said a person familiar with the operation. News of a possible sale of the plant was reported earlier by French newspaper Les Echos and Aviation Week. Airbus was not immediately available for comment.

Spirit declined comment on the potential sale of the St. Nazaire facility. A spokesman said work is improving and the company is "working closely together with Airbus to make the A350 successful."

Any sale to Airbus would mirror the approach taken by Boeing, which bought out some supplier facilities to improve the supply chain for its 787 Dreamliner. Spirit builds a significant portion of the 787, including its forward body, engine pylons and forward wing structure, but has been consistently identified as Boeing's highest-performing supplier on the troubled program.Mr. Lawson is due to assume his new role on April 6.

Lockheed said F-35 program chief Orlando Carvalho would replace Mr. Lawson as executive vice president of its aeronautics business, with Lorraine Martin, his deputy, moves up to head the fighter program.

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