Spirit Aero names new CFO with Boeing acquisition looming

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. named a new chief financial officer, switching out a key executive as efforts by Boeing Co. to buy back the aerospace supplier gathers pace. 

The company named Irene Esteves, the former finance chief of Time Warner Cable Inc., as CFO to succeed Mark Suchinski, Spirit said in a filing. Suchinski will still stick around for a transition period to support Esteves, the company said.

Spirit is Boeing’s most important supplier, making large parts of the fuselage of the 737 aircraft. The relationship between the two companies came into focus in the wake of a near-catastrophic accident aboard an airborne plane in early January that was caused by sloppy workmanship. In the months since, Boeing has announced that it plans to buy back Spirit to gain greater control of the company. 

Spirit, based in Wichita, Kansas, is led by Pat Shanahan, who spent years as an executive at Boeing. Boeing has also undergone a management shakeup, with its chairman and head of the commercial aviation division leaving. Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun has also said he plans to step down at some point this year, and the board is actively looking for a successor. 

Boeing has said that it’s confident it can announce a possible accord with Spirit about the reintegration in the next few weeks. The transaction is complex because the supplier also produces key parts for Airbus SE, Boeing’s main rival. The European manufacturer has said it’s working with Spirit to take over the parts of the operation that make components of its aircraft.