What Does Frank Shrontz Makes Of His Successors At Boeing?

 

Former CEO gives his take on how his successors have maintained the foundation that he laid in the 90’s

It is quite rare for a former CEO of a company, where he initially worked, to keep track of its operational performance, let alone figure out what is happening behind the boardrooms. However, that is what Frank Shrontz has been doing, keeping track of his former employer’s fortunes since his retirement.

Mr. Shrontz served as CEO of Boeing (BA) from 1986 to 1996, and is acutely aware of the inner workings of the company, as well as the people who are running the show in the Puget Sound region’s largest employers.

In an exclusive interview with Steve Wilhelm, writer for the Puget Sound Business Journal, Mr. Shrontz talked about his time there, union leadership, and the future of Boeing in terms of the challenges and market opportunities on the horizon. The analysis given by him might give some weight as to how the performance of various Boeing CEOs have left a financial impact on the aerospace companies and, based on that, what should be taken into account when a new successor has to be chosen.

First consideration was Phil Condit. He served Boeing from 1996 till 2003. He was deemed a high potential candidate, as he oversaw the acquisitions of McDonnell Douglas, Rockwell Aerospace, and Hughes Space and Communications, shifting of the company’s headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, and proved his class by overseeing the complex projects of developing the 757 and the 777.

Next up, Alan Mulally! Though he worked as the CEO of Ford Motor Company, which he was credited for turning around, he did serve in Boeings Commercial Aircraft division from 2001 to 2006. Mr. Mulally was considered as a great sales person with great technical mind, who made the proposal of coming up with a prototype of creating a long-range aircraft that turned in a reality in the form of the 787.

There was a debate on whom to select between Condit and Mulally, and the latter got sidelined as experience and age, which the former possessed, got the better of him. The current CEO, Ray Conner, has been with Boeing for a very long time since he started working on the 727 line as union mechanic. Mr. Shrontz claims that he does not know Mr. Conner very well, but he is secretly serving as his mentor.

Therefore, the question remains that which of the above CEOs, apart from Mr. Connor, is better, if they were given another chance to run better than before. Mr. Shrontz says all of them are equally great in their own strengths, and there is no standout amongst them, at least from their technical point of view, and not from an investor’s view who can deliver better rate of returns from their investments. Boeing’s stock price ended at $153.21, a fall of 0.02%.