Textron CEO Campbell To Retire; Operating Chief Donnelly To Succeed

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Lewis B. Campbell will retire as Textron Inc. (TXT) chief executive on Dec. 1, though he will remain nonexecutive chairman until 2011.

The diversified industrial company, known for its Bell helicopters and Cessna jets, tapped President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Donnelly to succeed Campbell, 63 years old, as chief executive. Donnelly, 47, is a relatively recent hire, having joined the company in June 2008 as chief operating officer. He added the president title in January.

The succession comes at a key time for Textron, which has seen some signs of stabilization in business conditions after getting hit with defense cancellations and weak jet demand. The company has been working over the past few months to strengthen its balance sheet and shuffling management at its operating units.

"Scott has quickly proven himself an extremely decisive leader with tremendous strategic vision and operating acuity," Campbell said. "He led the effort that put the Textron liquidity strategy on a strong path and spearheaded restructuring initiatives and operating improvements in our manufacturing businesses during these recent challenging times."

In after-hours trading, Textron shares were unchanged at $19.20. The shares have soared from their low of $3.57 in March but remain off nearly half over the past year.

-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355; [e-mail]