Textron names Millman president, CEO of Bell Helicopter

Textron Inc. on January 18 announced that Richard J. Millman has been named president and CEO of its Bell Helicopter unit and head of the company’s Bell segment. He replaces Michael Redenbaugh, who has resigned from the company. In turn, Frank Tempesta has been named president of Textron Systems, succeeding Millman.

“With the tremendous growth trajectory anticipated for Bell Helicopter, we are putting a strong operations executive in place to ensure we meet the current and future needs of our customers. There are wonderful growth opportunities ahead, and we are accelerating our focus on execution to ensure we make the most of them,” said Textron chairman, president and CEO Lewis B. Campbell.

Millman, a seasoned, 20-year veteran of Textron, most recently served as president of Textron Systems – a $1 billion business unit that produces specialty marine craft, armored vehicles, advanced weapon and sensor systems, aircraft engines and controls, and intelligence products for aerospace, defense and homeland security customers.

“For more than two decades, Dick has been an outstanding leader at Textron,” Campbell said. “His track record of performance, on both the growth and operations management sides of the equation, is exemplary. He is an experienced prime contractor to government customers, successfully producing complex finished products and systems for aerospace and defense applications.”

Prior to assuming his current position in 1995, Millman served as Textron’s vice president, office of the chairman, overseeing strategic planning and operations services and responsible for improving costs and efficiencies across the corporation. From 1987 to 1994, Millman was president of HR Textron, a supplier of hydraulic and control systems for NASA and major aircraft manufacturers. He joined Textron after a 20-year career at Avco Corporation, acquired by Textron in 1986. Millman holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from MIT, and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University.

Commenting on Redenbaugh’s departure, Campbell said, “Under Mike’s leadership, Bell achieved many significant program and product milestones and reinvigorated its growth prospects. We appreciate Mike’s efforts and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Tempesta, who succeeds Millman as president of Textron Systems, most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the business, overseeing day to day operations of Textron Systems’ six operating units. With this promotion, Tempesta joins Textron’s Transformation Leadership Team, comprised of the top operating and functional leaders of the corporation.

During a career spanning more than 20 years at Textron Systems, Tempesta has held myriad leadership positions in engineering, product development, program management and operations. He joined Textron after a 20-year career at Avco Corporation, acquired by Textron in 1986. Tempesta also served in the U.S. Army and NASA. He holds both bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University.

“The fact that we have internal executives ready to step into these two critical roles is testimony to our leadership bench strength and succession planning process,” Campbell noted.