Boeing’s departing CEO, Dave Calhoun, was re-elected to stay on the troubled company’s board on Friday, even as the planemaker’s chair said he was gathering feedback from customers and others in its search for a new chief executive.
Boeing is dealing with a sprawling crisis that includes multiple investigations, possible prosecution for past actions and slumping production of its strongest-selling jet.
Shareholders voted at Boeing’s annual general meeting (AGM) for Calhoun to remain on the board in a preliminary tally.
The proxy adviser Glass Lewis had recommended shareholders vote against the re-election of Calhoun and two other directors to Boeing’s board, citing dissatisfaction over efforts to transform the planemaker’s safety culture.
Steven Mollenkopf, Boeing’s chair and the former boss of Qualcomm, is leading the search to replace Calhoun, who said he would retire by year-end as part of a management shakeup following a January mid-air blowout on a new 737 Max 9.
Boeing is “committed to a process that will identify the next CEO to lead Boeing through our current challenges and into the future”, he said.
The company has sought feedback from customers, employees and investors in the search, Mollenkopf said. “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.”
Boeing shares have plunged 30% this year. “I would think it’s going to be a rougher ride, this AGM,” said David Duffy, co-founder and director of the Dublin-based Corporate Governance Institute, in reference to Mollenkopf.
“Most [attendees] are institutional investors who want to know, ‘Can you give us some sort of commitment you’re going to sort this place out and what you hope to achieve within a certain space of time?’ Duffy said. “What he says in the AGM is going to be important, not just for investors but passengers.”
Shareholders also supported a non-binding advisory vote on compensation, after the proxy adviser ISS flagged a misalignment between CEO pay and company performance.
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Investors have been waiting to hear progress on choosing Calhoun’s successor. Management experts said the company needed to find a new leader by mid-year as its current leadership did not have the credibility to make bold changes.
“Boeing cannot get back on track until its board appoints a new CEO from outside the company with a technical background and a deep understanding of aerospace technology,” said Bill George, former Medtronic CEO and a Harvard professor of management practice.
Bancroft said Patrick Shanahan, CEO of Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, would be a “great option” as the next CEO. Other possible successors flagged by analysts or sources have included the Boeing board member and Carrier boss, David Gitlin, and the American Airlines chair, Greg Smith.