James A. Bell

James Aaron Bell (born June 4, 1948) is an American executive who retired from and has been serving on the Apple Board of Directors since 2015.

Early life
Bell was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, California, the youngest of four children. Bell's mother Mamie was a former government clerk. His father Clyde died in 2003.

Education
Bell graduated from, where he was elected student body president during his senior year. In 1971, he earned his bachelor's degree in from. A partial scholarship helped pay for Bell's first year of college, but he had to earn enough to pay his way through the remainder of school.

Career
In 1972, Bell joined the company as an accountant. At that company he followed a path into, from corporate senior internal to  accounting manager and finally as manager of general and cost accounting. He joined Boeing in 1996 when Rockwell's aerospace and defense units were acquired.

At the Boeing Company, Bell was vice president of contracts and pricing for the company's Space and Communications Division. He later became senior vice president of finance and corporate controller. In November 2003, he became the acting, following the firing of due to a government contract scandal. He was formally elected executive vice president and CFO by Boeing's board of directors in January 2004. He became the interim and  of Boeing in March 2005, following the resignation of. He returned to his singular role as CFO on June 30, 2005, following the appointment of as the new president, chairman, and chief executive officer of Boeing. Bell was appointed corporate president in June 2008. On February 1, 2012, Bell announced his retirement as Boeing's executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 1, 2012; he was succeeded by Greg Smith.

Board memberships
Bell is a member of the of, , , the Chicago Urban League, World Business Chicago, the Chicago Economic Club, and New Leaders for New Schools. He was elected to Apple's board of directors on October 1, 2015.

Awards
In 2004, at the 32nd Alumni Awards Gala, Bell was the recipient of 's Distinguished Alumnus or Alumna of the College of Business and Economics.

Personal life
Bell married Mary Howell in 1981. They have two grown children, Champagne and Sean, as well as grandchildren.