The worlds largest aerospace company formally took flight this week at the Smithsonian Institutions National Air and Space Museum. The new Boeing Co., formed by the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas Corp., began operations as a single company. Chairman and CEO Phil Condit laid out the organizational structure of the new company during a news conference at the Washington landmark.
"We have a strong balance of commercial, defense, and space capabilities, customers in 145 countries, a business backlog of more than $100 billion, and a future with extraordinary potential for discovery and achievement," said Condit. He, along with Boeing President and COO Harry Stonecipher, first broadcast the organizational message by satellite to more than 150,000 of the 220,000 combined Boeing employees at 50 locations around the world.
Emphasizing a team approach to serving its spectrum of commercial, defense, and civil customers, Condit announced the formation of a new organization within Boeing, the Information, Space, and Defense Systems Group. ISDS will consist of McDonnell Aircraft and Missiles Systems, St. Louis; Space Systems, Seal Beach, Calif.; Information and Communications Systems, Seattle; and Phantom Works, an advanced research and development organization.
