By now, you have heard that Boeing CEO
David Calhoun, along with two other executives, have announced their
resignations.
Calhoun is stepping down at the end of the year
and the search will be on for his successor.
The question is, who will it be?
Speculation is
running rampant and ranges from General Electric honcho Larry Culp to Boeing’s own chief operating officer, Stephanie Pope, a definite internal candidate if the company
decides to keep it in the family.
But here’s a name that is out
of the blue and hasn’t been mentioned.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed
Bastian.
There’s Lots of Work Ahead
Whoever it is will step into a role unlike any other company CEO. The new leader will have to immediately fix the problems of production defects, safety issues, and overall integrity issues within the staff. That’s on top of restoring the reputation of a once-great company.
Boeing
will have to win over the public, and that might be the hardest job for the new
CEO.
“We need someone to fix
Boeing,” one major airline executive, who wasn’t authorized to speak
to the media, told CNBC after Boeing announced the management shake-up Monday.
“They unequivocally needed a change.”
Could that person be Bastian?
Boeing’s problems go well
beyond the door panel that blew off the Alaska Airlines jet in mid-flight in the
first week of January. Bastian is the perfect fit to handle those issues. He
has the ideal persona for it, including the gift of foresight.
After all, he
was the one who called the pilot shortage years before it actually started
happening.
Bastian has created a great
culture at Delta, and that’s what Boeing needs right now. A solid foundation to
build on. No offense toward any other candidates, but they also need to be
immersed in the ins and out of the aviation business.
Clearly, he has that.
“This is going to be a
challenging role to fill. You’re going to need someone with a huge amount of
energy and commitment,” said John Plueger, CEO of Air Lease, a major buyer of Boeing planes that leases them to airlines.
“You don’t want somebody for two years. You want someone at the head of the
ship for as long as possible.”
Is he ready to make that kind
of commitment to a new company?
Bastian has been with Delta
for nearly three decades and has been the CEO for almost the last decade. He
obviously has the pedigree. Under his watch, Delta has become one of the most
profitable airlines in the world.
That’s certainly a good start.
He has a proven track record.
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