Boeing has elected Heidi Capozzi, 46, a corporate senior vice president, and named her to replace Tony Parasida as the company’s human resources leader effective March 1st, 2016.

Parasida, senior vice president of human resources and administration, has announced his intent to retire this spring after a 38-year Boeing career.

Capozzi, who leads the company’s talent and leadership development function, joins the Boeing executive council of company officers immediately.

“Heidi Capozzi is a strong, experienced human resources leader who advocates for employees, collaborates to find solutions, and has a passion for developing leaders and our talent pipeline,” said Boeing president Dennis Muilenburg.

“With a broad set of industry experiences, she brings great perspective to this important new assignment and the investments we are making in our people and teams.”

Capozzi will begin working with Parasida to ensure a smooth transition.

In describing Parasida’s nearly four decades at Boeing, Muilenburg said: “Tony will leave a deep and diverse legacy of achievement across our businesses and functions. 

“We are grateful for his leadership of the V-22 Osprey, F/A-18 Super Hornet, military commercial derivatives, Global Services & Support, and then successfully bringing a business leader’s perspective to the challenges of preparing human resources strategies for our second century.

“He has our gratitude and best wishes in his retirement.”

In her current assignment, Capozzi leads the team responsible for identifying and developing emerging leadership talent within the company.

This includes running the company’s leadership centre in suburban St. Louis, where the company invests in immersive talent and leadership training experiences.

Since joining Boeing in 2009, Capozzi has held senior leadership assignments in human resources for both the Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space & Security business units.