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Boeing’s James Bell Headlines Black History Month Activities

Boeing’s James Bell Headlines Black History Month Activities

February 17, 2022
Retired CFO says authenticity and inclusiveness are keys to successful leadership
UCLA Anderson Alumni Lead in the $23 billion NFT Industry
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by Jill Hisey (’95)

  • Jamaal Powell ('22) moderated the discussion, utilizing his experience in finance at JPMorganChase, his future career in investment banking and his passion for EDI.
  • Rebecca Phuong ('22) played a critical role, as one of the first IFA VPs of Diversity, in joining IFA, the Fink Center and BBSA to bring the event to fruition.
  • Ugonna Osuala ('22) and Chris Low ('22) developed the interview topics and questions, and then marketed and executed the event to the UCLA Anderson community.
  • Among the key takeaways from Bell’s February 1 address are the importance of authenticity and inclusiveness
  • Bell related how an early — and challenging — performance review taught him to embrace constructive criticism as a path to improvement

Full-time MBA student Chris Low (’22) could not have predicted that a chance meeting he had when he was 16 years old would come full circle. Years later, as part of the student committee dedicated to celebrating Black History Month, Low knew that inviting James Bell, the former CFO of Boeing, to be the opening keynote speaker was the perfect decision.

As a teenager, Low would hear his mother, the only other Black C-suite executive at Boeing, extolling Bell’s leadership style. She shared Bell’s life story with Low, from his upbringing in South Los Angeles to his historic rise through the financial ranks in aerospace to his achievement as the first Black CFO in the industry. Bell’s inclusive leadership style and his confident, non-arrogant presence made an impression on Low, inspiring him to invite Bell to speak as part of UCLA Anderson’s Black History Month activities.

Bell’s February 1 address focused on the importance of authenticity and recognizing the gains achieved when one leads by being inclusive. One of Low’s goals for his MBA experience is to build on his own authentic identity. He has taken leadership roles in the Black Business Students Association, the Strategy and Operations Management Association, AnderTech and Embracing Diversity Week. In addition, since Low’s pre-MBA career involved analytics, he wanted to capitalize on networking with classmates from all programs, interests and backgrounds. These new connections have illustrated to him the strength that comes with inclusivity.

Low was surprised when Bell admitted that on one of his first performance reviews, his supervisor had included more than 10 pages of “needs improvement” ratings. This was a pivotal moment for Bell; he could have chosen to dismiss the criticism, but he instead chose to embrace and learn from it. Bell challenged the students to accept criticism, whether or not it is constructive, as all criticism is helpful in understanding the points of view of those evaluating your contributions. He reminded the students that, after all, it will be those supervisors who will be responsible for your career progression, so listening to their perspectives is insightful.

As Low embarks on his post-MBA leadership journey, he will take with him some lessons from Bell. First, because he recognizes the importance of mentoring, he plans to build a respectful relationship with his team, where they are empowered with opportunities to succeed. Second, he will prioritize inclusivity, reaffirming Bell’s advice that all teams are stronger when they include people who have different backgrounds and points of view. Finally, Low will make certain that as a leader he also provides opportunities for others to lead, recognizing the potential and skill sets of his fellow team members, so that they, too, can realize their full potential.

Hear James Bell speak at Anderson’s Black History Month kickoff