Lisa Atherton will become the new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Textron, taking over from Scott Donnelly on 4 January 2026. She was previously President and CEO of Bell, the company’s helicopter segment. Textron owns many aviation brands, including Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, and Textron Systems.
“The Board is pleased to name Lisa as our next CEO after conducting a comprehensive succession planning process and believes this transition will ensure continued success for the Company,” said R. Kerry Clark, Textron’s Lead Director. “As a member of Textron’s executive leadership team for over 8 years, we witnessed Lisa play a key role in driving growth across her businesses and winning critical programs. On behalf of the Board, we look forward to working with her even more closely as she leads the company through this next phase of execution.”
“It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve as Bell’s president and CEO,” said Atherton. “I have had the honour of working in a variety of businesses and functions during my eighteen-year tenure at Textron, gaining a deep understanding of our customers, experiencing our high-performing culture and growing our extraordinary talent. I am excited to become president and CEO of Textron, and I look forward to working with Scott, the Board and our global teams to bring our innovative technologies and products to our customers and create value for our shareholders.”
Photo: Textron
