Boeing has announced the appointment of Linda Mills as vice president of Communications for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the company’s $58 billion business unit that designs and builds the world’s most advanced and efficient jetliners.

Mills, an award-winning executive with 20 years of strategic communications experience, joins Boeing from Seattle-based Starbucks, where she served as vice president of Global Communications.

In her new role, Mills will work with a team of communications and marketing professionals responsible for global media relations, employee and executive communications, social media engagement, advertising, and other communications disciplines.

Mills will report to Phil Musser, senior vice president of Communications, and Kevin McAllister, president & CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

 “Kevin and I are thrilled to have someone with Linda’s talents and proven track record join our Communications team and help share Boeing’s amazing stories during our second century of aerospace innovation,” said Musser.

Over the past six years, Mills held leadership roles at Starbucks with broad responsibility for brand communications, thought leadership, executive communications, and issues and crisis management. She led high-profile campaigns and helped launch dozens of new products and services. In 2015, industry publication PR Week named Mills as one of its “40 under 40” communications professionals.

“Boeing has a storied culture of innovation spanning the past century, and I am grateful for the opportunity to join an exceptional team during an exciting time of transformation in the aerospace industry and in the practice of communications,” said Mills.

Mills succeeds Sean McCormack, who announced in September his decision to leave Boeing after nearly a decade with the company. He led Communications at Commercial Airplanes and, before that, Communications for Government Operations in Washington, D.C.

“Sean did an outstanding job leading our team during a period of significant achievements, including record commercial airplane production, overseeing Boeing’s centennial celebrations in the Puget Sound, and development of advanced jets such as the 787-10 Dreamliner. We'll miss him at Boeing but respect his decision to start something new,” said Musser.

Mills lives in the Seattle area with her family. She will be based at Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ headquarters in Renton, Washington. – TradeArabia News Service