Good morning.
When interviewing Alan Mulally, it’s clear he has a passion for both the science of making products and the art of managing people. Before his eight-year run as CEO of Ford, Mulally was CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes from 1998 to 2006. A celebrated leader in both jobs, he was an aerospace engineer who’d built his career in a culture that trusted its engineers, a culture that started to erode after Boeing’s merger with McDonnell Douglas. He left Boeing after being passed over for Jim McNerney as CEO.
I mention Mulally because Boeing needs not just a new leader but a new leadership approach. It’s now pleading guilty to fraud charges over the deadly 737 Max crashes. CEO Dave Calhoun, along with predecessors Dennis Muilenburg and McNerney, has been criticized for being a numbers guy who paid more attention to shareholders and stock price than employees and safety. For a fuller history, check out Shawn Tully’s cover story earlier this year.
