John F. McDonnell retired as chairman of the board for McDonnell Douglas Corporation in 1997 after a more than 35-year career at the company. He was elected chairman and chief executive officer in 1988, a position he held until September 1994. From then until his retirement at the time of the merger with Boeing, he was chairman of the board. McDonnell led the company successfully through the early 1990s when the U.S. defense budget and the aerospace markets were shrinking dramatically. In the face of a rapidly consolidating aerospace industry, he oversaw the merger of McDonnell Douglas with Boeing to create the world’s largest, broadest and strongest aerospace company.
Throughout his career, McDonnell did extensive traveling and business around the world. While he was chairman of McDonnell Douglas, he made many trips abroad visiting more than 40 countries, many of them multiple times for a cumulative total of more than one year outside the United States. In retirement he has spent the equivalent of another year abroad during numerous additional travels.
McDonnell earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University.
Among his current professional and civic affiliations, McDonnell is a member of the boards of directors of The Boeing Company and Zoltek Companies. He was chairman of the board of trustees of Washington University in St. Louis from 1999-2004 and is currently vice chairman and life trustee. He is also a member of the Presidents’ Circle of the National Academies and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.