Boeing's chief executive ousted for affair scandal

Boeing Co. said Monday that it had ousted Chief Executive Officer Harry Stonecipher for having anaffair with a female executive.

Boeing Co.'s said in a statement that Stonecipher would be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Financial Officer James Bell.

Stonecipher, 68, retired as vice chairman of Boeing in June 2002 and returned later, replacing Phillip Condit as Boeing's Chief Executive Officer.

"Having an affair is not a violation of our code of conduct," said Boeing's Chairman Lewis Platt. "There were just some issues of poor conduct and judgement that we believe would impair his ability to lead."

Stonecipher's scandal was not the only one among Boeing Co.'s high executives. Former Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears was sentenced to four months in prison on February 18 for deceiving the government by offering a job to an Air Force official as they negotiated a 23 billion-billion defense contract.

Boeing Co. asked all its employees to sign and abide by the Boeing Code of Conduct, which required that they understand the code and report suspected violations.

Source: Xinhua