Lisa Atherton has been named president and CEO of the Bell segment of Bell Textron. Atherton, most recently the chief operating officer of Bell, succeeds Mitch Snyder, who will be retiring after more than seven years as president and CEO of Bell and nearly 20 years with the company.

Atherton served as president and CEO of Textron Systems from 2017 until January 2023 when she was named COO at Bell. She joined Textron Defence Systems in 2007, and in 2013 she transitioned to Bell and held a number of leadership positions within military programmes, including executive vice president, military business. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy, she served eight years at the US Air Force Air Combat Command's Directorate of Requirements.

Commenting on the transition, Scott C. Donnelly, Textron chairman and CEO, says: “Lisa has done an outstanding job of building strong teams at Bell and Textron Systems in her 16 years with the company and has earned the confidence of our customers. Under her leadership, Bell will continue its strong execution across military and commercial programmes, and I am confident that she will provide the strategic vision to generate future growth for Bell.

“I also want to thank Mitch for his leadership. During his tenure, Mitch oversaw the development of new technologies and product innovations, significant wins in Bell's military business and the expansion of our commercial programmes.”