Boeing expands CFO Greg Smith's role

(Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Wednesday its Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith will take on additional roles, ahead of the planned retirement of some of its key executives later this year.

The range of duties that will shift to Smith includes overseeing the launch of Boeing Global Services on July 1, accelerating innovation, productivity and market-based affordability projects and identifying, developing and deploying general managers and program managers.

Boeing Global Services is a new business unit to be formed from the customer services groups within the company's existing commercial airplanes and defense units.

The move comes as Boeing Vice Chairman Ray Conner and Senior Vice President of program management, integration and development programs Scott Fancher are expected to retire this year.

Conner joined Boeing as a mechanic 40 years ago on the 727 assembly line, working his way up to become the company's sales chief and then boss of the commercial planemaking division.

Conner was replaced as head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes last November by former General Electric executive Kevin McAllister.

Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said the planned retirements of Conner and Fancher had created a window to consolidate a range of "performance-based enterprise efforts" under Smith.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)