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Are we reading the same sources? The ex-CEO, David Calhoun, has a degree in accounting. https://www.boeing.com/company/bios/david-l-calhoun https://www.boeing.

Are we reading the same sources? The ex-CEO, David Calhoun, has a degree in accounting. https://www.boeing.com/company/bios/david-l-calhoun https://www.boeing.com/company/bios/david-l-calhoun > Calhoun has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech.

Andoryuuta 3y ago
The former CEO does (Dennis Muilenburg), but not David Calhoun.
IshanMi 3y ago
You're right about Calhoun- I was actually referring to Dennis Muilenburg, the CEO who was fired in 2019 after the two 737 MAX crashes and the subsequent groundings. My comment wasn't clear enough- I'll edit it for clarity.
- ibeckermayer 3y ago
  The financialization of management at Boeing has been an issue since well before 2019. See: https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=213075 https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=213075
elygre 3y ago
David Calhoun is the current CEO until the end of the year.
p_l 3y ago
The CEOs that triggered various financialization moves were engineers by background, too
- throwaway81523 3y ago
  They had previously worked under "Neutron" Jack Welch, who had a PhD in chemical engineering. What a wide trail of destruction that guy left.
- throw0101c 3y ago
  > The CEOs that triggered various financialization moves were engineers by background, too They were engineers by degree. When was the last time they looked at a CFD or FEA model? I have an EE degree, but haven't looked at antenna or power systems design in many moons: I have no background in them (working sysadmin stuff).
  - cqqxo4zV46cp 3y ago
    What are you proposing then? The CEO not do…CEO stuff? This is a common no true Scotsman argument on HN, where ‘real engineers’ are treated as some sort of shorthand for “someone that has the same values that I do”.
    - throw1234651234 3y ago
      I think he is proposing that tech company CEOs have some hands-on engineering experience at least for a short while. I agree with that - "MBA only" bosses really have no idea what it's like to be on the ground. I can't even emphasize how true this is, "no idea whatsoever" is a huge understatement. I thought they were faking to be lazy at first, but they really don't understand that some people need to actually do the work and what goes into it. And I say that as an MBA/CFA before engineering.
      - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
        Many great CEOs of engineering-focused companies are pure suits with no engineering background. The CEO is mostly a figurehead, whose only actual responsibilities are to manage the investors and build out a leadership team. Some CEOs take on more, but they really don't need to in order to run a successful company.
    - llamaimperative 3y ago
      The only meaningful proposal is to fundamentally rethink the culture that’s eaten American companies since the 80s. The fundamental issue is fiduciary duty getting warped by people like Milton Friedman into the modern meme that executives are legally obligated to maximize shareholder profits (effectively always in the short term). Boeing is just the next of many, many cases of companies being destroyed by capitalism run rampant.
cryptos 3y ago
Isn't accounting "finance engineering"? :-)
- TheLoafOfBread 3y ago
  And cleaning staff are actually floor engineers. Everything is engineering if you are imaginative enough.
  - ant6n 3y ago
    Nah, cleaning staff are hygiene technicians.
    - jraph 3y ago
      Well, in English, "engineer" does seem to also mean technical worker (what we call "technicien" in French), in addition to "ingénieur".
  - guappa 3y ago
    In my country to be an engineer I have to have a university degree of a certain kind, then do a state exam for the national engineering association, then pay a yearly fee to remain an engineer. I'm a bit discontent how just about anyone of my coworkers in USA can be a whatever engineer :D
    - willcipriano 3y ago
      In America we look at the ideas someone has rather than what degree or membership they may have purchased.[0] [0]https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/04/beaverton_man_claims_oregon_st.html https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/04/beaverton_man_cl...
      - guappa 3y ago
        That's why salesmen whose only job is to promise literally whatever to customers are called "sales engineers"… because of their superior ideas -_-' Studying and learning and taking exams? Nah… that's boring. I'm going to point out that you have this exact system for lawyers and doctors… you can't just have ideas and be a lawyer or a doctor.

Andoryuuta 3y ago

The former CEO does (Dennis Muilenburg), but not David Calhoun.

IshanMi 3y ago

You're right about Calhoun- I was actually referring to Dennis Muilenburg, the CEO who was fired in 2019 after the two 737 MAX crashes and the subsequent groundings. My comment wasn't clear enough- I'll edit it for clarity.

ibeckermayer 3y ago
The financialization of management at Boeing has been an issue since well before 2019. See: https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=213075 https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=213075

elygre 3y ago

David Calhoun is the current CEO until the end of the year.

p_l 3y ago

The CEOs that triggered various financialization moves were engineers by background, too

throwaway81523 3y ago
They had previously worked under "Neutron" Jack Welch, who had a PhD in chemical engineering. What a wide trail of destruction that guy left.
throw0101c 3y ago
> The CEOs that triggered various financialization moves were engineers by background, too They were engineers by degree. When was the last time they looked at a CFD or FEA model? I have an EE degree, but haven't looked at antenna or power systems design in many moons: I have no background in them (working sysadmin stuff).
- cqqxo4zV46cp 3y ago
  What are you proposing then? The CEO not do…CEO stuff? This is a common no true Scotsman argument on HN, where ‘real engineers’ are treated as some sort of shorthand for “someone that has the same values that I do”.
  - throw1234651234 3y ago
    I think he is proposing that tech company CEOs have some hands-on engineering experience at least for a short while. I agree with that - "MBA only" bosses really have no idea what it's like to be on the ground. I can't even emphasize how true this is, "no idea whatsoever" is a huge understatement. I thought they were faking to be lazy at first, but they really don't understand that some people need to actually do the work and what goes into it. And I say that as an MBA/CFA before engineering.
    - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
      Many great CEOs of engineering-focused companies are pure suits with no engineering background. The CEO is mostly a figurehead, whose only actual responsibilities are to manage the investors and build out a leadership team. Some CEOs take on more, but they really don't need to in order to run a successful company.
  - llamaimperative 3y ago
    The only meaningful proposal is to fundamentally rethink the culture that’s eaten American companies since the 80s. The fundamental issue is fiduciary duty getting warped by people like Milton Friedman into the modern meme that executives are legally obligated to maximize shareholder profits (effectively always in the short term). Boeing is just the next of many, many cases of companies being destroyed by capitalism run rampant.

cryptos 3y ago

Isn't accounting "finance engineering"? :-)

TheLoafOfBread 3y ago
And cleaning staff are actually floor engineers. Everything is engineering if you are imaginative enough.
- ant6n 3y ago
  Nah, cleaning staff are hygiene technicians.
  - jraph 3y ago
    Well, in English, "engineer" does seem to also mean technical worker (what we call "technicien" in French), in addition to "ingénieur".
- guappa 3y ago
  In my country to be an engineer I have to have a university degree of a certain kind, then do a state exam for the national engineering association, then pay a yearly fee to remain an engineer. I'm a bit discontent how just about anyone of my coworkers in USA can be a whatever engineer :D
  - willcipriano 3y ago
    In America we look at the ideas someone has rather than what degree or membership they may have purchased.[0] [0]https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/04/beaverton_man_claims_oregon_st.html https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/04/beaverton_man_cl...
    - guappa 3y ago
      That's why salesmen whose only job is to promise literally whatever to customers are called "sales engineers"… because of their superior ideas -_-' Studying and learning and taking exams? Nah… that's boring. I'm going to point out that you have this exact system for lawyers and doctors… you can't just have ideas and be a lawyer or a doctor.