(Reuters) – Boeing shareholders will vote on Friday whether to keep outgoing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun on the board, adding new uncertainty to an annual general meeting (AGM) where investors await clarity on the company’s future governance. aircraft manufacturer.
Former Qualcomm chief Steve Mollenkopf is looking for a replacement for Dave Calhoun, who has announced he will retire by the end of the year as part of a management shake-up after an incident in flight on a 737 MAX 9 in January.
Consulting firm Glass Lewis has recommended that shareholders vote against the re-election of Dave Calhoun and two other Boeing board members due to dissatisfaction with the planemaker’s lack of effort to reform its safety culture. .
Investors are also waiting to hear about progress in choosing Dave Calhoun’s successor. Some management experts have said the company needs to find a new leader by mid-year, as current management lacks the credibility to make bold changes.
“Boeing will not be able to get back on track until its board of directors appoints a new CEO from outside the company, with a technical background and in-depth knowledge of aerospace technology,” said Bill George, former CEO of Medtroni and professor of management at Harvard.
Tony Bancroft, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, said Pat Shanahan, chief executive of Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, would be an “excellent option” for the chief executive role.
David Gitlin, Boeing board member and Carrier boss, and Greg Smith, president of American Airlines, are among other possible successors cited by analysts or sources.
(Reporting Allison Lampert in Montreal, David Gaffen in New York and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bangalore; French version Alban Kacher, editing by Kate Entringer)
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