Summary
- Calhoun acknowledges Boeing’s safety culture issues, but says progress is being made through action and feedback.
- Experts suggest Boeing needs an outsider as CEO for a shakeup, preferably someone younger for long-term change.
- Suggestions for Boeing’s new CEO include someone with a strong engineering background to prioritize safety and quality.
Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer is set to testify before a Senate committee tomorrow in Washington. David Calhoun, who will depart the company later this year, will testify that Boeing’s safety culture is lacking but changing.
Testifying before Congress
2024 has been a tough year for American aircraft manufacturer Boeing. A series of developments and incidents have led to major changes at Boeing, including changing the CEO of the Commercial Airplanes branch and announcing the departure of its CEO, David Calhoun. The manufacturer has faced increased scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and has appeared before Congress several times.
According to a report from Reuters, David Calhoun will testify before a United States Senate Committee tomorrow in Washington. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will question Calhoun about safety at Boeing. Reuters says it saw a written statement from Calhoun which says.
“Much has been said about Boeing’s culture. We’ve heard those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress.”
Reuters added that Calhoun plans on telling the committee that outside help has been brought in to analyze Boeing’s process and provide feedback. His statement adds that employee feedback has been taken into consideration and that action has been taken.
Related
Breaking: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 Diverts Due To Sudden Loss Of Emergency Exit Door
The hunt for a new CEO
After announcing his departure at the end of the year, Calhoun has pushed for the company to search for a new CEO internally. Some experts hold the opinion that promoting someone internally is not a good idea and that Boeing needs a hard reset amidst current challenges. Hiring someone internally would likely not provide a shakeup the manufacturer needs.
It is hard to tell whether someone who says the ‘right things’ will bring about change. Bringing in an outsider who has not worked in the current culture and has not been associated with Boeing does seem likely now.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
Some hold the belief that Boeing’s next leader should be someone younger. David Calhoun is already 67, which is at the high end of retirement age in the US. Choosing someone in their 40s or 50s could be beneficial, so the new leader could have a long tenure and hopefully turn things around. Several names have been thrown around, but Boeing has not released a shortlist.
Related
IATA Believes Future Boeing CEO Should Have A Clear Understanding Of “What Went Wrong”
Calhoun, who will remain on the board at Boeing following a vote to keep him there, said he would like to see someone who knows how to handle a big, long, long-cycle business like ours. He added the person should have experience in the industry.
Emirates president, Sir Tim Clark, believes that the manufacturer should be led by someone with an engineering background. Clark said,
“To fix Boeing’s issues the company needs a strong engineering lead as its head coupled to a governance model which prioritizes safety and quality. Whether, yet again, this changing of the guard will resolve Boeing’s issues only time will tell, but time, unfortunately, is not on their side.”