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March 07, 2005
The Mile High Club (Not)
Sex at Boeing: Outlawed
The Boeing Company said today that its president and chief executive officer, Harry C. Stonecipher, had resigned at the request of the board of directors because a personal relationship he had with a female executive in the company violated its code of conduct.Mr. Stonecipher is the second chief executive to resign from the company on matters related to conduct since he succeeded Philip M. Condit, who stepped down in December 2003, in the wake of a scandal involving a fuel-tanker contract with the Pentagon.
A Boeing press statement said that the company's board asked Mr. Stonecipher on March 6 to resign after it concluded from an investigation that his relationship with the woman, who did not report directly to him, was "inconsistent" with the company's rules on behavior for its employees. It did not name her.
"The Board concluded that the facts reflected poorly on Harry's judgment and would impair his ability to lead the company," said the chairman of the board, Lew Platt, in the statement that was posted on the company's Web site.
"The resignation was in no way related to the company's operational performance or financial condition, both of which remain strong. However, the CEO must set the standard for unimpeachable professional and personal behavior, and the Board determined that this was the right and necessary decision under the circumstances," he said.
The Puritan Ethic is alive and well in America. Long live Chastity! Sheesh.
UPDATE:
We at Cobb really believe that this is a front and a scam and that deeper problems exist. It's not as high on the smellometer as the Skilling retirement, but it's up there.
Posted by mbowen at March 7, 2005 08:31 AM
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Comments
I don't think the issue related to his screwing around. It had more to do with the fact that his squeeze was on the company payroll. It would, in fact, put the company at risk on a lot of levels, on issues ranging from blackmail to sexual harassment.
A corporate chief executive really ought to know better. Since he did the dirty regardless, it's a manifestation of his poor judgment. Boeing's board was not only justified in firing him, they were correct to do so.
Then again, the firing could have been cover for other management issues we'll never know about.
Posted by: Scott Ferguson at March 7, 2005 12:08 PM
"Boeing fires CEO after affair with female exec" (via Emerging Minds)
[...] Chief Financial Officer James Bell, 56, will succeed Stonecipher on an interim basis, becoming Boeing's first African-American CEO. The 32-year Boeing veteran is not a candidate to take the job permanently.
Boeing said Stonecipher's resignation was unrelated to the company's performance or financial condition. Still, analysts said the news was negative; they credited Stonecipher's aggressive marketing approach with helping revive commercial jet orders at Boeing, the largest U.S. exporter.
"Stonecipher was doing a great job," said Cai Von Rumohr, an analyst at SG Cowen. "The big issue is who is the next guy and it's a more important choice than at other points because they are just starting to claw back market share."
3M Co. Chairman W. James McNerney, a Boeing board member, is a leading candidate for the job, as is Alan Mulally, who heads Boeing's commercial plane unit, analysts said. [...]
;-)
Posted by: George Kelly at March 7, 2005 11:07 PM
"The Puritan Ethic is alive and well in America. Long live Chastity! Sheesh."
It might be that having relations with someone under you in the chain of command is actually a big deal. Not because of the sex per se (we're all adults here) but because it complicates the whole "giving orders and carrying out the plan" thing which is, after all, what busines is about.
Posted by: Brian at March 8, 2005 10:13 AM
You're right. As I read a WSJ article on the matter, this appears to be nothing more than what it is. Now I am convinced that Stonecipher and the Boeing board did the right thing for the right reasons.
Posted by: Cobb at March 8, 2005 12:38 PM
Visit my blog to see an exclusive photo of Debra Peabody, the woman that Stonecipher was having the affair with.
Posted by: Calico Cat at March 8, 2005 06:52 PM