Boeing Re-elects Outgoing CEO Amid Safety Culture Crisis and Search for Replacement
Boeing’s shareholders have voted to re-elect its outgoing CEO, Dave Calhoun, despite a proxy adviser’s recommendation against it, amid an ongoing safety culture crisis.
Last month, Proxy Adviser Glass Lewis advised shareholders not to re-elect Calhoun at this week’s annual meeting. However, shareholders ignored this guidance and passed the measure, according to a preliminary tally.
Lewis raised concerns over dissatisfaction with efforts to change the safety culture at the company, which has come under intense scrutiny this year after several high-profile incidents, including the death of a whistleblower and multiple high-level malfunctions, Reuters reported.
In January, a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight blew out midflight. This incident was followed by a plane being forced to land without front landing gear and another skidding off the runway in Senegal. Calhoun announced earlier this year that he would resign from his position at the end of 2024 as a result of the crisis.
Boeing has also faced multiple whistleblowers, such as Sam Salehpour, who testified to a culture of “effectively… putting out defective airplanes” and warned that the planes could “fall apart at the joints” if issues do not receive immediate attention.
Salehpour, a quality engineer with 40 years at Boeing, claimed he received physical threats for raising these concerns. “My boss said, ‘I would have killed someone who said what you said in a meeting,’” he testified. “This is not safety culture when you get threatened by bringing up safety concerns.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened an investigation into the company after it came to light that several 787 Dreamliner planes had missed vital inspections before distribution, leading to accusations of falsified records.
As a result of these ongoing issues, Boeing shares have dropped 30% in value this year, according to The Guardian.
Boeing’s newly-appointed Chairman, Steve Mollenkopf, will continue to seek a permanent replacement for Calhoun. Drawing on his experience as the former Qualcomm CEO and an engineer, Mollenkopf has held discussions with Boeing suppliers and airline customers about their concerns to appropriately frame the challenges the new CEO will face. The search is in its early stages, The Seattle Times reported.
Mollenkopf assured shareholders that the company remains “committed to a process that will identify the next CEO to lead Boeing through our current challenges and into the future.”
“The months and years ahead are critically important to our company as we take the necessary steps to regain the trust lost in recent times, get back on track, and perform like the company that we all know Boeing can and must be every day,” Mollenkopf said at the meeting.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, FOX Business, The Seattle Times, Reuters.com