John F. McDonnell (born 1938) is an American businessman, engineer, and philanthropist. McDonnell served as the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

McDonnell Douglas Corporation McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...

from 1988 until its merger with

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

in 1997 and its

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

from 1988 until 1994. He was a

corporate director A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal ...

from the 1997 merger until 2012, when he reached the Boeing-mandated retirement age of 74.

Early life and career

Born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, in 1938, McDonnell is the son of

McDonnell Aircraft The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...

founder

James Smith McDonnell James Smith "Mac" McDonnell (April 9, 1899 – August 22, 1980) was an American aviator, engineer, and businessman. He was an aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas, and the James S. McDonnel ...

and Mary Elizabeth Finney. A graduate of St. Louis Country Day School (now

Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School MICDS (Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) is a secular, co-educational, independent school home to more than 1,250 students ranging from grades Junior Kindergarten through 12. Its campus is located in the St. Louis suburb of Lad ...

), McDonnell completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in aeronautical engineering at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1960 and 1962, respectively. He earned an MBA from the Olin Business School at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, which also awarded him an honorary doctorate in science in 2006. After marrying his wife Anne in 1961, McDonnell began working for MAC as a strength engineer on

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

the following year. He was instrumental in founding McDonnell Douglas Finance Corporation in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and ultimately becoming a vice president of the division in 1968. After McDonnell became Chairman in 1988, he helped create the newsmagazine 90 Days as a way to keep employees and shareholders abreast of what was going on in McDonnell Douglas. After McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997, McDonnell himself held the title of largest individual shareholder in the combined company in March 2003. In addition to his continued involvement with Boeing, he is also a director of BJC HealthCare, chairman of the board of

Barnes-Jewish Hospital Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, it is the adult teaching hospital for the Washington University School of Medicine and a major component of ...

and vice chairman of the board of

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. McDonnell is also a lifetime trustee of the

St. Louis Science Center The Saint Louis Science Center, founded as a planetarium in 1963, is a collection of buildings including a science museum and planetarium in St. Louis, Missouri, on the southeastern corner of Forest Park. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of ...

. He, along with his brother, James S. McDonnell III, sit on the board of directors of the

James S. McDonnell Foundation The James S. McDonnell Foundation was founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell. It was established to "improve the quality of life," and does so by contributing to the generation of new knowledge through its support of research and ...

, which is based in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, MO. In 2006, McDonnell and the JSM Charitable Trust endowed $10 million to

for the creation of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.Skwiot,Rick. "Educating Future World Leaders." Washington University in St. Louis Magazine. Vol. 77,No. 2, Pgs. 20-25. Retrieved 2008-01-06. Commenting on the program McDonnell said, "So far the Academy has progressed beyond my expectations." McDonnell was later named St. Louis "Citizen of the Year" in 2009. McDonnell resides in the St. Louis area, and enjoys traveling and tennis as hobbies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, John 1938 births American chief executives of manufacturing companies Businesspeople in aviation McDonnell Douglas Princeton University alumni Living people American corporate directors Boeing people