Boeing shakeup demands 'whole new thinking,' not new faces: Expert
Boeing (BA) has announced that its CEO Dave Calhoun and board member Larry Kellner will be stepping down. Boyd Group International president Mike Boyd joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how the leadership shakeup will necessitate "a whole new thinking, not just new people."
Boyd notes that although the leadership transition will be positive, the company needs "a whole new philosophy." He emphasizes that regardless of the vacant positions being filled, "it's the same board of directors" which could mean "the same direction."
Boeing needs leaders that will "shake it like a dead chicken and move it ahead into being the leader it used to be," Boyd says. He highlights the company's failures to enhance its aircraft, stressing that manufacturing advancements will be a key factor in turning the company around.
He emphasizes that the new leadership's job is to think ahead about the "future of aviation," extending from operations to product lines, which he believes Boeing's current leadership team "hadn't been doing." Boyd expresses hope that the new CEO will have "more than just a track record" but also ideas that can be enacted to turn the company around.
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Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith
Video Transcript
MADISON MILLS: The planemaker CEO Dave Calhoun will step down from the helm at the end of 2024. Boeing's chairman of the board, Larry Kellner, announcing his decision not to stand for re-election at the company's annual meeting in May.
Mike Boyd, Boyd Group International President is joining us now to discuss. And Mike, thank you so much for being here. I want to start by just getting your take on this news. Is this what accountability looks like at Boeing?
MIKE BOYD: Well, what it means is they've thrown a couple of people under the bus. And they're going to be looking for a new CEO. Calhoun stays for another-- what, eight months or so?
It's a start. But what they need is not just new people, but a whole new philosophy and new strategy. That remains to be seen. Until we see that, you can't be too excited about Boeing right now.
We have the same board of directors. And that may mean the same direction. Again, a body count doesn't count. What really does count is, what's their new strategy going to be?
SEANA SMITH: Mike, what do you think that new strategy should be? And the fact that this is the beginning of a new phase for Boeing, at least, it sounds like it might, at the very least, be a step in the right direction.
MIKE BOYD: It's definitely a step in the right direction to start with. They have to make something of that step. Right now, we're talking about Boeing's manufacturing processes. OK. Fix that.
But what are they manufacturing? They're manufacturing a narrow body aircraft that's really out of date or coming to be out of date. Airbus is now the number one. It's going to be that way for a while, because Boeing said we're not going to bring in another new airplane until 2030.
Guys, by that time Airbus will be more than just number one. So we need people that are going to take Boeing. Shake it like a dead chicken. And move it ahead into being the leader it used to be. And that's a long way off.
MADISON MILLS: So Mike, if this is them moving in the right direction, how do they make sure that they nail this process?
MIKE BOYD: Well, what they have to do is make sure whoever they bring in has new ideas, not just a new seat warmer. And, again, let's remember, the board of directors has been sitting there for years letting this happen. Maybe we need a bulldozer in that room as well, because they're the ones that are responsible for what's gone on over the last 15 or 20 years that puts Boeing behind the curve.
So, again, we're going to have to have whole new thinking, not just new people. And that means thinking ahead, planning a new product line, looking ahead to the future, and all kinds of areas in aviation. Boeing hadn't been doing that.
SEANA SMITH: When you take into account what we could expect here from the new CEO, we have Steve Mollenkopf here, the former CEO of Qualcomm. He is now going to be chair of the board replacing Kellner.
What are they-- from what we know about the makeup of Boeing's board as it stands or how it will be in just about a month from now, what are they going to be looking for in their search for that next CEO?
MIKE BOYD: One, hopes they're going to be looking for someone with more than just a track record, not going to somebody, it was a GE or was somewhere else. We want to talk about people who walk in there and say, I know what this company needs. And here's what it is.
And can, basically, put those into words, put those into action. Just getting someone who has a great background doesn't count. We've already had that at Boeing. We need somebody who has a futurist view.
And that may mean going outside the industry. It may be staying into it. But we don't want another seat warmer at Boeing for America's good. we need someone who wants to sees Boeing and sees what it can be as a global manufacturer again.
