Several days after Boeing announced its promotion of Stephanie Pope, outgoing CEO of Boeing Global Services, to chief operating officer, the OEM has chosen her successor. Chris Raymond will take on executive leadership of Boeing Global Services (BGS) starting Jan. 1, 2024.
Raymond has been Boeing’s chief sustainability officer since October 2020. He was previously vice president of sustainability, strategy and corporate development at Boeing and has held several leadership roles within Boeing Defense, Space and Security, including becoming its first vice president and general manager of autonomous systems. Raymond began his career as an engineer and has held leadership roles throughout many of the OEM’s divisions, including engineering, supply chain management, program management, strategy and operations.
He will report to Pope, who highlighted his experience in a statement issued by the company: “Chris brings more than 30 years of Boeing expertise in nearly every aspect of our operations, and has strong employee, customer and supplier connections across our commercial and government markets. I’m confident he will continue the strong operational performance with our services team and remain focused on delivering on our customer commitments.”
Raymond takes over Boeing's most reliable business unit at a time when it is free to chase promising opportunities. Once tabbed as a $50 billion per year entity before the pandemic, CEO Dave Calhoun reset expectations at a November 2022 investor day, emphasizing that BGS would benefit from "disciplined [capital] allocation decisions in a growing market, one that's very attractive and in our view, can deliver real value for all of us.”
BGS's full-year 2023 revenue is on pace to rival if not top 2019's peak of $18.4 billion, and the business's 17.4% operating margin through nine months only adds to its appeal. The revenue split is back to 60% commercial and 40% military—another pre-pandemic benchmark.
Among Raymond's likely priorities: a focus on leveraging Boeing's growing digital products business to deliver value for customers—and more revenue for the company. Examples include providing software that helps operators reduce fuel burn or optimize aircraft tail assignments to fit known events such as upcoming maintenance checks. Other, more visible business lines—such as converting aircraft to freighters, expanding parts distribution and supporting government fleets—should also be ripe for expansion.
However, taking leadership of BGS will also come with some challenges. The business was disrupted by a cyberattack in early November and it has dealt with blowback this year due to a poorly written bulletin that included incorrect service information related to 777 inspections. It has also faced frustration from customers in its parts and supply chain business in response to long lead times and increased prices for parts.
Raymond is likely already seasoned in navigating complex, delicate situations with customers. During his time as vice president of sustainability, strategy and corporate development, he was also tasked with leading Boeing’s efforts to engage and seek feedback from stakeholders following the 737 MAX accidents. In his executive biography, Boeing notes this work included partnering with stakeholders across the company to “focus on employees, customers, passengers, suppliers and other valued partners, ensuring their voices and interests were actively represented across all the company’s efforts.”
