Scott Donnelly is finally handing over the keys. On January 4, 2026, one of the longest-tenured CEOs in the aerospace and defense sector officially stepped down from the top spot at Textron Inc. It marks the end of a 16-year run that basically redefined what it means to lead a massive industrial conglomerate through total chaos. He isn't disappearing entirely—he’s moving into the Executive Chairman role—but the daily grind of running the company behind Cessna, Bell, and Beechcraft now belongs to Lisa Atherton.
If you look at the stock price today versus when he took over, it tells one story. When he started as CEO in late 2009, Textron was reeling. The global financial crisis had absolutely gutted the business jet market. Shares were trading in the teens. Today? They’ve been flirting with the $80 to $90 range. But the numbers don't really capture the weird, high-stakes maneuvering Donnelly had to pull off to keep the company from falling apart.
The GE Pedigree and the 2008 Baptism by Fire
Scott Donnelly didn’t start at Textron. He was a General Electric guy through and through. He spent nearly 20 years there, eventually running GE Aviation. When he jumped ship to Textron in 2008 as COO, he probably thought he was joining a stable, thriving giant.
He was wrong.
Within months of his arrival, the floor dropped out of the economy. Cessna, which had been the company's golden goose, saw its backlog evaporate. People weren't just canceling orders; they were running away from the industry entirely. Honestly, most CEOs would have just hunkered down and waited for the storm to pass. Donnelly did the opposite. He went on the offensive while everything was on fire.
By the time he was promoted to CEO in December 2009, he was already laying the groundwork for a massive consolidation of the light and midsize jet market. He realized that for Textron to survive, it couldn't just be a collection of loosely related brands. It had to be an integrated manufacturing machine.
Why the Hawker Beechcraft Deal Changed Everything
If you want to understand Donnelly's leadership style, look at the 2013 acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft. At the time, critics thought it was a huge gamble. Textron already had Cessna. Why buy a direct rival that was struggling through bankruptcy?
Basically, Donnelly saw what nobody else did: the value of the "installed base."
By bringing Beechcraft into the fold, he didn't just get the King Air line (which is a legend in its own right). He got thousands of existing aircraft that needed parts, service, and upgrades. He turned Textron Aviation into a service-first business. While jet sales were still sluggish in the mid-2010s, the service revenue kept the lights on. It was a classic "razor and blade" strategy applied to $20 million airplanes.
A Rough Patch for eAviation
It wasn't all wins, though. You've got to look at the eAviation experiment to see the limits of the conglomerate model. Donnelly pushed hard into electric flight, acquiring Pipistrel in 2022 and forming a whole new segment.
It didn't quite stick the landing.
By late 2025, Textron made the quiet but significant move to dissolve the standalone eAviation division. Most of those programs were folded back into the main Aviation segment. It was a rare admission that maybe they’d moved a bit too fast or too far away from their core internal combustion and turbine expertise.
The Bell V-280 Valor Win
If the Hawker deal was about the past, the FLRAA (Future Long Range Assault Aircraft) contract was about the next 40 years. For a long time, Bell (Textron’s helicopter wing) was losing ground. Their legendary Huey and Cobra platforms were aging out.
Donnelly bet the house on tiltrotor technology.
When the U.S. Army selected the Bell V-280 Valor to replace the Black Hawk in 2022, it was the biggest win of Donnelly's career. We’re talking about a contract potentially worth $70 billion over the life of the program. It secured the future of the Bell segment and proved that Donnelly’s obsession with R&D and engineering—he’s an electrical engineer by trade, after all—actually paid off.
Leading Through the "Gen AI" Questions
One of the more interesting stories from his final years involves his push for technology. Todd Kackley, Textron's CIO, has talked about how Donnelly basically cornered him during his first week and asked, "What are we going to do about generative AI?"
Donnelly isn't just a suit; he's a licensed private pilot. He understands the mechanics. He pushed the team to develop TAMI (Textron Aviation Maintenance Intelligence), an AI tool that helps junior mechanics sift through decades of manuals and data to fix planes faster. He didn't want a long PowerPoint about ROI. He wanted to see if it worked on the hangar floor.
👉 See also: Finding a Commercial Kitchen Rental San Diego: What Most People Get Wrong
What Most People Get Wrong About His Tenure
People often think of Donnelly as a "cost-cutter" because he shuttered some underperforming lines and leaned out the workforce during the lean years. But if you look at the CapEx (capital expenditure) during his 17 years, he actually poured billions into new products.
He launched the Citation Latitude, the Longitude, and the upcoming Ascend. He didn't just cut his way to profitability; he engineered his way there.
The Succession Plan: Enter Lisa Atherton
The transition to Lisa Atherton wasn't an accident. Donnelly spent the last five years rotating her through the toughest spots in the company—from Textron Systems to the CEO role at Bell.
By the time he stepped down on January 4, the handoff was remarkably quiet. No drama. No sudden "pursuing other interests" press releases. It was a textbook corporate transition.
Lessons From the Donnelly Era
If you’re looking to apply the Donnelly playbook to your own business or investment strategy, there are a few things that actually matter:
- Protect the Service Revenue: When the market for "new" things dies, the market for "maintaining" things keeps you alive. Focus on your installed base.
- Engineering Matters More Than Finance: Donnelly succeeded because he actually understood how the products worked. He didn't just manage a balance sheet; he managed a hangar.
- Don't Waste a Crisis: He bought Hawker Beechcraft when the industry was at its lowest point. That’s when you make your biggest moves.
- Internal Talent Over External Stars: Atherton is a 18-year veteran of the company. Donnelly’s legacy is partly about building a bench of people who actually know the culture.
As Scott Donnelly moves into the Executive Chairman seat, he leaves behind a Textron that is unrecognizable from the one he inherited in 2008. It’s leaner, sure. But it’s also much more technologically advanced and, for the first time in decades, it has a massive, multi-billion dollar military contract to lean on for the long haul.
✨ Don't miss: Is Tesla Stock Down for Good? What Most People Get Wrong About TSLA
Next Steps for Investors and Observers
If you're watching Textron in 2026, keep a close eye on the Cessna Citation Ascend's entry into service. This is the first major launch under Lisa Atherton's watch, but it's fundamentally a Donnelly-era project. Its success will be the final grade on his product development strategy. Additionally, monitor the FLRAA program milestones at Bell; any delays there will impact the stock far more than quarterly earnings in the short term. Finally, look at how the company handles the integration of eAviation assets into the main line—it'll tell you if they're still serious about electric flight or if they're pivoting back to traditional fuels for good.