November 25, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 29, 1424

CHICAGO, Nov 24: Boeing said on Monday it dismissed chief financial officer Mike Sears or improperly recruiting a US Air Force official to join the aerospace firm and then lying about it.

The dismissal is related to the hiring of a former US government official, Darleen Druyun, who has also been dismissed for cause.

Boeing said the dismissals for “unethical conduct” were effective immediately.

Sears violated company policy by communicating with Druyun about future employment before she had disqualified herself from acting in an official government capacity on matters involving Boeing.

Druyun retired late last year as principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and management for the Air Force, where she made decisions that affected Boeing’s business and was closely involved in Boeing’s bid for a multibillion-dollar 767 tanker deal.

“Compelling evidence of this misconduct by Mr. Sears and Ms. Druyun came to light over the last two weeks,” said Boeing chairman and chief executive Phil Condit.

“Upon review of the facts, our board of directors determined that immediate dismissal of both individuals for cause was the appropriate course of action.”

Sears and Druyun were also found to attempt to conceal their misconduct. Boeing named James Bell its acting chief financial officer. He has been senior vice president of finance and corporate controller. Boeing also said it had retained former US senator Warren Rudman to review the company’s ethics programmes.—AFP