PARIS — Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems has selected Jim Simpson to replace retiring Stephen T. O’Neill as president of the company’s commercial satellite division, including its new services business, with immediate effect, Boeing announced Dec. 10.
Bruce Chesley, former director of the company’s Advanced Space & Intelligence Systems, will replace Simpson as vice president for business development, Boeing said.
Paul Rusnock has been appointed vice president of national programs, succeeding Claire Leon, who is retiring. Dan Hart will succeed Rusnock as vice president for Government Satellite Systems.
Attendees of global satellite industry conferences will recall O’Neill as the commercial satellite speaker who regularly argued that low-probability, high-impact events, sometimes referred to as black swans, could cause major problems for the entire industry.
Events with this kind of impact, he said, could include an Ariane 5 rocket failure following a Proton rocket failure, which would ground most telecommunications satellites; the destruction of a large telecommunications satellite by space debris, which could trigger a huge increase in insurance rates; and an industry-wide shortage of components.
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