John R. Murphy
Vice President
Customer Support for Europe
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
BSAAE 1989
"I take great pride in my Purdue education. It was foundational in getting my first job at Boeing. My senior design project at Purdue directly prepared me for that position. Since then it has provided me great opportunities through a tremendous network of Purdue engineers, some of whom I have known since my time at Purdue and many more that I have met in my professional life."
John was named as Customer Support Vice President for Europe in August 2017. In this role, he provides dedicated executive communication and focus for all Boeing models in Europe.
Most recently Murphy served as the 787 Fleet Chief. He was responsible for leading fleet reliability improvement efforts and to support new customer introductions. Prior to that, Murphy served as the Chief Engineer for 787 Propulsion. He was responsible for a team of over 300 engineers. He provided leadership and technical direction for the development, flight test, certification, and delivery of multiple variants of the Rolls Royce Trent 1000 and GEnx 1B engines, Nacelles, Struts, Fuels and Auxiliary Power System.
Previously, Murphy served as Senior Manager of Safety, Certification and Performance for 747/767/777 engineering. He was responsible for managing airplane delivery certification for all wide body airplanes. He is also has oversight for 767 airplane safety and airplane performance, including aerodynamics, noise, weight and reliability. He has also worked as the manager of the 747/767/777 airplane safety organization, leading safety related activities including continued airworthiness efforts, and safety assessments for existing and derivative wide-body airplanes.
Additionally, Murphy served as a Program Integration Manager in the 737 Airplane. In this position his responsibilities included: 737-900ER Integration IPT leader and program manager for the 737 Short Field Performance (SFP) program and for the 737-700ER program. Prior to joining the Integration Office, he worked at the Customer Delivery Center. In this role, he worked closely with airline customers to ensure the smooth and timely delivery of new airplanes. Prior to that, he worked in Propulsion Systems Division (PSD) for 10 years. Assignments at PSD included: 757 Performance Engineering, 737 Product Development Engineer, 737NG Engine Installation Lead Engineer, and candidate FAA designated engineering representative (DER).
Murphy graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. His major fields of study included: airplane and rocket propulsion, airline economics, and political science.
John and his wife, Shirley, live in Issaquah with their three boys. He enjoys reading, golf and sailing. He is also active in the community. He is an Assistant Scout Master for Boy Scout troop 636. He has worked with the "Seattle Works" charity origination as well as serving on the board of "Guys Night Out, a Charitable Event". He is a sponsor of the ACT Theater, and is active in local politics. He has worked on a number of political campaigns and was previously elected Precinct Committee Officer.