David Calhoun, Boeing’s new CEO, made headlines last week in an interview with the New York Times in which he essentially threw former CEO Dennis Muilenburg under the bus. A number of highly critical statements were made about the former CEO, including “if anyone ran over the rainbow for the pot of gold on stock, it would have been him.” The industry reacted quickly and harshly to those statements, with incredulity that the Boeing CEO would make such statements.
Calhoun is correct to have regrets over his prior statements, which were damaging to the company and potentially provided ammunition for those suing Boeing, as it implied that the company was motivated by profits to cut corners. Coming from someone with ten years on the Boeing
Board of Directors, this is likely to result in increased rather than decreased scrutiny on the development of the 737 MAX and leadership directives to cut costs. With an on-going federal investigation underway, this is exactly what Boeing doesn’t need today, as it exacerbates their legal difficulties.
Analysis:
Calhoun, in giving the interview to the Times, was apparently trying to separate his leadership from past decisions. But having been a Board Member at Boeing for a decade, that stretches credibility as he has been intimately involved in key decisions for the firm. If he wasn’t, he would have been shirking his duties as the lead independent director. The article comes across as the new CEO throwing his predecessor, who he claimed “did everything right” just a few months ago, under the bus now that he is gone and can no longer defend himself.
David Calhoun, Boeing’s new CEO, made headlines last week in an interview with the New York Times in which he essentially threw former CEO Dennis Muilenburg under the bus. A number of highly critical statements were made about the former CEO, including “if anyone ran over the rainbow for the pot of gold on stock, it would have been him.” The industry reacted quickly and harshly to those statements, with incredulity that the Boeing CEO would make such statements.
Calhoun is correct to have regrets over his prior statements, which were damaging to the company and potentially provided ammunition for those suing Boeing, as it implied that the company was motivated by profits to cut corners. Coming from someone with ten years on the Boeing Board of Directors, this is likely to result in increased rather than decreased scrutiny on the development of the 737 MAX and leadership directives to cut costs. With an on-going federal investigation underway, this is exactly what Boeing doesn’t need today, as it exacerbates their legal difficulties.
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