Beginning in 1973, Shrontz served in the United States Department of Defense during the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He returned to Boeing in January 1977 as a vice president in charge of contract administration and planning. He later became a division head managing production of 707, 727, and 737 aircraft.
During the oil crisis of the 1970s, he was a proponent of the mid-range 737 jetliner rather than the longer range and more fuel efficient 757 and 767.[10] This was a successful decision financially, as stabilizing oil prices and airline deregulation soon led the 737 to become Boeing's top selling airframe.[11] The move was later described "either lucky or prescient."[12]
Shrontz became president of Boeing in 1984 and served as CEO from 1986–1996. He was chairman of the board from 1988 to 1997.[13] His tenure started on a high note, but followed by the 1990-1991 recession and the end of the Cold War, whilst Shrontz pushed Boeing into the space industry and a contract to build parts of the International Space Station.[14] 777, designed from the ground up and in five years, was the first major result of Shrontz’s restructuring: earning the company hundreds of billions of dollars, compared to the 4 billion it cost to develop.[15]
While he was serving on the board of directors of Chevron, a new double-hulled supertanker was named in his honor in November 1998.[19] The South Korean-built ship was renamed the Antares Voyager in 2003 after it changed owners.[20][21]
Personal life
Shrontz married Harriet Ann Houghton, whom he met at the University of Idaho, in 1954. They had three sons, and were married for 58 years. She died in 2012.[22] Shrontz was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2004. Boeing endowed the Frank Shrontz Endowed Chair of Professional Ethics at Seattle University beginning in 1997.[13] He was awarded the Oxford Cup, Beta Theta Pi's most prestigious award, in 1999.[6][17]
Shrontz died in Seattle on May 3, 2024, at the age of 92.[23][6][24]
^"College of Law". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1954. p. 239. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
^"Beta Theta Pi". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1954. p. 129. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
^Baker, Geoff (September 25, 2011). "Mariners' nearly invisible owners stand firmly behind struggling team". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 8, 2024. Other owners on the board include Yamauchi's son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, as well as chief minority shareholder Larson and local business magnates Frank Shrontz, Wayne Perry and Rob Glaser.
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