GE Aviation executive is joining Textron as COO

PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc., the world’s biggest maker of business jets, named Scott Donnelly, the head of General Electric Co.’s GE Aviation unit, as its chief operating officer last week.
Bloomberg News reported that Donnelly, 46, will take over immediately. Donnelly was with GE for 19 years and had been chief executive officer of GE Aviation, the world’s biggest jet-engine maker, since July 2005.
Textron, the maker of Cessna business jets and Bell helicopters, is adding the chief operating officer role as earnings are being hurt by provisions for loan losses in its finance divisions. CEO Lewis Campbell, 62, in January predicted a “banner year” for business jets, with 570 orders expected even amid a weaker U.S. economy.
“Bringing in a respected GE veteran is likely to be viewed as a positive addition,” Rob Stallard, an analyst at Macquarie Research Equities in New York, wrote in a statement. Having “a quality manager like Donnelly as a potential successor” for Campbell is “clearly helpful,” he added. &#8226