The appointment of GE Aircraft Engines chief James McNerney to the top spot at Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., which could come as soon as today, would catapult David L. Calhoun to president of the world's largest jet engine maker.

        Mr. McNerney last week was passed over for the top job at GEAE's parent, General Electric Co.

        Mr. Calhoun, 43, executive vice president and chief operating officer and formerly head of GE's Employers Reinsurance unit, was named last summer as Mr. McNerney's heir apparent. To assure an orderly transition, GE named successors for each of the three finalists for chairman Jack Welch's job: Mr. McNerney; Finneytown native Jeffrey Immelt, who was named as replacement; and Robert Nardelli, president of GE Power Systems.

        In an interview last summer, Mr. McNerney said Mr. Calhoun was taking an active role in management decisions in anticipation of his either being elevated to the top spot at GE or moving elsewhere.

        Mr. Calhoun will take charge at GEAE, which employs 8,500 in Greater Cincinnati, at a key moment. GE is completing its $45 billion acquisition of Honeywell Inc., a deal that will double the size of GE's jet engine business and make it a leading supplier of aircraft avionics as well.

        A graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1979, Mr. Calhoun joined GE's corporate management program and was initially assigned to the corporate audit staff. He was named manager of programs and planning for the corporate audit staff in 1986.

        He subsequently was an executive at GE Capital, GE's corporate headquarters in Fairfield, Conn., and at GE Plastics before being elected a corporate officer in 1994. He later served as president of GE Transportation and GE Lighting before being named head of the Employers Reinsurance unit in 1999.Ù

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