On April 17, Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney named Wanda Denson-Low to replace Bonnie Soodik as head of the company's Office of Internal Governance, effective May 4. Soodik will retire June 30 after a 30-year Boeing career. Denson-Low, who leads the legal staff supporting Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), will hold the title of senior vice president, reporting to McNerney. She also will replace Soodik as a member of the company's Executive Council.

"Bonnie set Boeing on a path building an ethics and compliance program that is among industry's best," McNerney said. "She has exemplified the best in leadership as she established a new organization and set high expectations for her team and our entire company along the way.

"As we continue our journey, I am looking to Wanda to keep driving our commitment to making ethics and compliance a competitive advantage for Boeing. She is a strong, talented leader with the right background and experience to further advance our internal governance programs," he added.

As leader of the Office of Internal Governance (OIG), Denson-Low, 50, will be responsible for internal audit, ethics and business conduct, import- and export-related activities, as well as overall compliance requirements. She brings 25 years of broad functional experience in corporate law and human resources management, serving as vice president and assistant general counsel for IDS since 2003 and previously as IDS vice president of Human Resources.

Denson-Low joined Hughes Aircraft Company in 1984 and rose through the company's legal ranks to become assistant general counsel in 1992 and general counsel of its satellite business in 1998. With Boeing's acquisition of Hughes' satellite business that same year, Denson-Low became chief counsel for Boeing's new Space and Communications division, and when Boeing combined its space and defense businesses into IDS in 2002, she became vice president of Human Resources for the new business unit.

A native of New York, she is a 1981 graduate of Brooklyn Law School and a 1978 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

Soodik, 56, established the company's Office of Internal Governance organization in 2003. Her career included senior leadership positions for the company's Shared Services organization, the human resources function for Boeing's space and defense businesses, and the quality function at various McDonnell Douglas businesses. She began her career in 1977 with McDonnell Douglas Automation Company and progressed through a number of management and leadership positions at Douglas Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas Space Systems and on the C-17 program.

"Throughout her career, Bonnie always willingly tackled the most challenging assignments," McNerney said. "She has been instrumental in focusing Boeing on continuously improving, following disciplined processes, overcoming obstacles, doing the right thing and exceeding expectations at every turn."