Hexcel Chief Executive Officer & President 

Tom Gentile became Chief Executive Officer & President of Hexcel Corporation effective May 1. He was appointed to the Board of Directors following the annual shareholder meeting on May 2.

Most recently, Tom was President and Chief Executive Officer at Spirit AeroSystems from 2016 – 2023. He led a team of 20,000+ employees across 12 locations globally. Spirit is the leading Tier 1 global supplier of aerostructures and integrated structural systems for commercial and military aircraft, with major work packages on all Boeing and Airbus programs. Tom led the company through two major crises: The grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX during which Spirit revenue dropped about 50%, and the COVID-19 pandemic which led to a drop of 94% in commercial flight volume.

Among aerospace OEM suppliers, Spirit AeroSystems is one of the most sophisticated users of carbon fiber composite materials, working on numerous projects that make extensive use of Hexcel materials including the A350, Boeing 787, A320, A220, 737 MAX, and the Sikorsky CH-53K.

Before joining Spirit, Tom held a succession of leadership positions over 19 years at GE. From 2014 – 2016, he was President and Chief Operating Officer at GE Capital, where he oversaw global operations, IT, and capital planning for the global financial services business with about 15,000 direct staff and a $2.5 billion budget. Tom served on the GE Corporate Executive Council, a 40-person leadership team chaired by GE CEO Jeff Immelt, and he was elected to the GE Capital Board of Directors. He led operations during a major transformation of GE Capital to a smaller, non-systemically important financial institution focused on GE verticals (e.g., aviation, healthcare, energy).

Other roles at GE included:

• President & Chief Executive Officer - GE Healthcare Systems where he led a global, $13 billion business with 12,000 employees that develops manufactures, distributes, and services medical equipment, including diagnostic imaging and medical devices.
• President and Chief Executive Officer - GE Aviation Services where he led a $7 billion business responsible for overhaul, repair, sale of spare parts, and management of long-term agreements for 23,000 GE and CFM commercial aircraft engines in service.
• Chief Marketing Officer – GE Money where he led the growth strategy for diversified consumer financial services organization with $190 billion assets, $3.5 billion net income in 54 countries and launched four global product centers of excellence.
• President & Chief Executive Officer – GE Money Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) where he led eight business units with combined assets of $30 billion and 4,700 employees. He also was President & CEO of the GE Money business in Paris, France, where he led four business units with combined assets of $4 billion and 1,100 employees.
• Senior Vice President – Six Sigma – GE Global Consumer Finance, where he led of team of more than 250 quality resources in 38 countries to improve operations effectiveness of consumer finance businesses and identify growth initiatives.

Before joining GE in December 1997, Tom was Vice President, Strategic Planning at CBS Corporation in New York where he led strategic planning, operations improvement initiatives and the integration of CBS into Westinghouse. He also was an Associate Principal/Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company where his work focused on automotive OEMs and suppliers as well as a broad range of industrial and technology-oriented businesses in the U.S. and Europe. He started his career as a Trade Analyst at General Motors where he analyzed, negotiated, and implemented commodity trading programs to support the sale of GM products in Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

Beginning in January 2024, Tom became Executive Advisor to the Dean of the Barton School of Business at Wichita State University on a pro-bono basis. He also is the former Chair of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), serves on the Advisory Board to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Governors of the Wings Club Foundation and currently is president-elect. Wings Club is an aerospace and defense industry association which raises money for scholarships for the next generation of leaders.

An active community member, Tom serves on the governing boards of the Greater Wichita Partnership and Kansas Big Brothers and Big Sisters and on the Foundation for the YMCA of Greater Wichita. He also serves as a Trustee of the ALS Finding a Cure organization. He previously served on the Greater Milwaukee Committee, as well as on the boards of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County, Connecticut. During the pandemic, the Governor of Kansas appointed Tom to serve on the SPARK Task Force Advisory Board to help distribute CARES Fund money in Kansas.

Tom has a degree in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He studied international relations at the London School of Economics and is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, earning his certification while working at GE.

Tom is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He and his wife, Julie, have three children and are planning to relocate from Kansas to Connecticut.