Patrick M. Shanahan

Shanahan was born on June 27, 1962, in Palo Alto, California,[9][10] the son of Jo-Anne Genevieve (née David) and Michael George Shanahan.[11] His father's original surname was "Rockholtz," and "Shanahan" is the surname of Patrick's step-grandfather.[12][13] He grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he graduated from Bishop Blanchet High School in 1980.[14][15] He attended the University of Washington where he earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in mechanical engineering. He then earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the MIT Sloan School of Management.[16][17]

Shanahan with John Kerry

Shanahan joined Boeing in 1986, becoming involved in Computer Services and the Boeing 777 program.[3] Over the course of his career, he held management roles with respect to the Boeing Missile Defense Systems, as well as 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787 commercial airline programs.[17] He also played a role spearheading the recovery of Boeing's 787 program,[18] and was known there as "Mr. Fix-it" from as early as 2008.[19]

Shanahan served Boeing Commercial Airplanes as vice president and general manager of the Boeing 757 program, with responsibility for the design, production, and profitability of the 757 family of planes.[3] He also held leadership positions on the Boeing 767 program and in the fabrication division.[20]

Shanahan then served as vice president and general manager for Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Philadelphia.[21] He was responsible for all U.S. Army Aviation programs and site activities in Philadelphia and Mesa, Arizona.[3] Programs at these facilities included the V-22 Osprey, CH-47 Chinook, and the AH-64D Apache.[21]

Shanahan served as vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, starting in December 2004 overseeing the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, Airborne Laser and Advanced Tactical Laser programs.[17][3] He served as vice president and general manager of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner program, where he led the program during a period of the aircraft's development from 2007 to 2008.[3] He next served as senior vice president of Airplane Programs at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, beginning in December 2008.[22]

In April 2016, he became senior vice president, Supply Chain & Operations, for Boeing.[22] His responsibilities in that position included manufacturing operations and supplier management functions,[21] carrying out advanced manufacturing technologies, and global supply chain strategies.[23]

Shanahan was a member of the Boeing Executive Council.[24]

Since leaving government service in 2019, Shanahan has been appointed to serve on various boards of directors including Zanite Acquisition Corp. (2021),[42] Leidos (2022),[43] and CAE Inc. (2022).[44] On October 2, 2023, Shanahan, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, was appointed interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.[45]

Current positions

• Member, National Academy of Engineering in 2019 for aerospace industry leadership in commercial aircraft, missile defense and rotorcraft and for service to the Department of Defense.
• Fellow, Royal Aeronautical Society[23]
• Fellow, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, 2004[46]
• Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics[23]

Former positions

• Secretary and Treasurer, American Helicopter Society International Board of Directors[22]
• Chair of Board of Regents at University of Washington[25]
• Regent, University of Washington 2012–2017[47]
• Board of directors, American Parkinson Disease Association[22]
• Member, Washington Roundtable[25]

Awards

• Distinguished Service (2019), University of Washington College of Engineering[48]

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• Appearances on C-SPAN