Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney said that Bell "created a world-class finance organization and a culture of continuous improvement," using a disciplined approach to financial management.

"As corporate president, he instilled a focus on excellence and teamwork by driving tighter integration across our businesses and functions," according to McNerney.

Bell also had served as interim CEO for several months in 2005, immediately before McNerney took over.

Among his biggest challenges has been dealing with that stemmed from the long and frequent delays that took place before the planes started being delivered this year.