Copyright Breaking Defense
BELFAST — Boeing has appointed former UK defense procurement minister Jeremy Quin as its new UK and Ireland president, the company announced today. Quin is set to begin in the new post Nov. 21 and will oversee regional operations and strategy, the firm said in a statement announcing the move. He succeeds Maria Laine after she recently moved to take on the position of Boeing Defense, Space and Security’s leader for business capture and operations. Quin’s appointment comes amid Boeing Defense UK struggles on the estimated £1.89 billion ($2.57 billion) UK Royal Air Force E-7 Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) program, due to local technical issues, supplier troubles and lawmaker criticism over high costs. His time as UK defense procurement minister overlapped with the British MoD decision to cut the original Wedgetail order from five to three aircraft, published in the 2021 Defense Command Paper. Despite the choice to go ahead with a reduced buy of the Wedgetail, the MoD has agreed to pay for all five of the Northrop Grumman Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radars, which are essential to delivering Wedgetail’s early warning and surveillance capabilities at long range. The two additional sensors are planned to be used as spares. Quin served as a UK Conservative party lawmaker from 2015 to 2024, holding positions in the Cabinet Office and Home Office, in addition to a series of MoD roles. After losing his local seat in the constituency of Horsham, England, in the 2024 UK general election, he took on an advisory role to support the Labour government’s Strategic Defense Review. He spent 25 years in the corporate finance industry before entering politics. Boeing Defense UK (BDUK) management is also undergoing a shake up with Thom Breckenridge named today as the division’s new managing director. He replaces Steve Burnell, who is due to retire in October, ending a three-year tenure.
