Investing.com -- Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) named Mark Jenks as the head of 787 Dreamliner program on Friday to replace Larry Loftis, after the longtime executive announced he will be retiring from the company after 35 years of service later this month.
Jenks, who joined Boeing in 1983, has served on the Dreamliner project since the aircraft's inception in January, 2005. The company unveiled the aircraft during a ceremony in July, 2007 more than two years before it embarked on its maiden flight in late-2009. The flight completed testing in mid-2011 and entered the commercial market by October of that year.
Previously, Jenks served as the company's director of its Sonic Cruiser Technology integration from 2001 until 2003 and the director of its 787 Wing, Empennage and Landing Gear team from 2003 to 2007. For a three-year period from 1999 until 2001, Jenks worked as a Pressurized Elements Chief Engineer and deputy program manager at the company's International Space Station Program in Huntsville, Alabama.
Boeing is on pace to roll out 10 Dreamliner jets from its plant in Everett, Washington and another 10 from its factory outside of Charleston, S.C. Around the world, the company has nearly 300 Dreamliners in production.
On Wednesday, Boeing announced it earned $1.11 billion, or $1.59 per share during its second quarter which ended on June 30, down from $1.65 billion, or $2.24 per share, a year earlier. Company revenue spiked by 11% to $24.54 billion, as its commercial airline deliveries rose 9% to 197.