Fanning to become CEO of the $18M-revenue group in 2018

Fanning

The Aerospace Industries Association has appointed the former head of the U.S. Army as its next president and CEO.

Eric Fanning will become president and CEO of the $18 million-revenue association on Jan. 1, 2018, the organization announced Monday. Fanning most recently was Secretary of the Army under President Barack Obama. He stepped down from the position in January.

Before he was Army secretary, Fanning was chief of staff for the Secretary of Defense, acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force and under secretary of the Air Force, and deputy under secretary and deputy chief management officer of the U.S. Navy. He is the only person to have held senior appointments in all three military departments and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

"Eric is an accomplished, respected leader whose broad government and national security experience will serve AIA and its member companies well," Dennis Muilenburg, chairman of AIA's board of directors, said in a statement.

Fanning will succeed Dave Melcher, a former U.S. Army lieutenant general and aerospace industry executive who has led the association since 2015. AIA announced in July that Melcher would step down at the end of the year.

Fanning never served in the military but has worked in government for 25 years, including on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee. He also was the first openly gay person to lead a branch of the U.S. military.

He has a bachelor's degree in history from Dartmouth College.

Recruitment firm Korn Ferry assisted in the search.