Boeing CEO hunt involves checking many boxes

Precision engineering. Boeing’s new CEO needs to be able to juggle, perform intricate surgery, herd cats and build bridges. They also need to be willing to take the job.

The $110 billion jet-maker has three main, interlinked, problems. Its finances are a mess, with nearly $60 billion of debt, and earnings due on July 31 are likely to show it burned $8 billion more cash than it produced in the first half, according to analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Manufacturing problems have dented orders, while regulators have capped production. And whoever replaces Dave Calhoun at the end of this year, Boeing needs a new plane, as it’s losing market share.

Some names pop to the top. A candidate for fixing Boeing’s manufacturing woes is likely to need an engineering background, with experience in running sprawling projects, picking competent subordinates and shepherding wayward suppliers. Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, fits the bill. He helped put the troubled 787 program back on track over a decade ago after production woes. Now he runs Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier that Boeing has agreed to buy – so he could soon be part of the family.

Financial decay could favor a different kind of corporate mechanic. Aviation is a capital-intensive business, so the company needs profit and a healthy balance sheet. Alan Mulally, an engineer that nearly ran Boeing, but was passed over for other candidates twice, might fit the bill. At Ford F.N, he borrowed $24 billion in 2006, divested ancillary businesses, controlled costs and kept the car firm from going bankrupt. He is 78 however and fixing Boeing will take several years.

Developing a new plane requires vision into new technology, understanding commercial viability, getting customers on board, and keeping budgets in check. Gwynne Shotwell, chief operating officer of SpaceX, has been at that company for over two decades in senior roles, and helped turned it into a $200 billion company, all on a shoestring budget and working for the demanding Elon Musk. Her running of day-to-day operations and relationships with clients and government would be as useful at Boeing as they are at SpaceX.

Potential CEOs also must be amenable. Larry Culp, who reinvigorated and broke up General Electric, just extended his contract at GE Aerospace, effectively ruling him out. The reputational risk at Boeing is huge – plane crashes cost lives – but the upside might also be modest. Doubling the stock price would only leave it where it was five years ago. The answer is probably money, and lots of it. Boeing’s board may have to lure a new boss by compensating him or her exorbitantly for success. After years of prioritizing short-term gains, Boeing needs a CEO who’s long-term greedy, with a pay package to match.