CEO Watch - James McNerney, Boeing Update #1

Boeing CEO, James McNerney, just received another body blow. Yesterday the Seattle Times reported that due to the newly found wing flaw that was first discovered in May Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner would be unable to undergo a test flight in 2009. This information only complicates the ultimate delivery and success of the new plane which Boeing has been relying on to help maintain their lead over their prime competition European Airbus. McNerney may ultimately take the hit for these problems. Stay tuned.

For more:

Daily Tech

Recommended Reading - The new fluidity cfo and coo roles, The Deal.com

Thomas Bonney of CMF Associates wrote a piece for the deal.com examining the increasing reduction of barriers between the cfo and coo positions in many companies. Bonney wrote,

CFO and COO role shifts are most frequently on the rise at companies where there is a weakness in leadership at either position. The challenges of the current economic environment have exposed individuals who have reached the peak of their functional level competency and are unable to develop a broader skill set that extends across functions; these individuals are increasingly being terminated by boards and private equity firms in conjunction with overall talent upgrade initiatives to deal with tougher times.

Another driver behind the blending of the CFO and COO roles is businesses’ heightened need for rapid and accurate decision-making, despite an environment that fosters fewer reliable, relevant facts. External competitive and economic pressures are resulting in increased financial and operational ambiguity, while, at the same time, mandating better executive judgment calls. In the sub-$100 million revenue world of the middle market, this decision-making must cross functional lines, thus further blurring the line between CFO and COO responsibilities.

The article should be read by anyone interested in corporate management.

Incredible - Lloyds Banking Group Appoints Win Bischoff Chairman

Former CitiGroup chairman Win Bischoff has just been appointed chairman of the U.K.’s Lloyds Banking Group. Bischoff who failed to show much foresight while chairman at Citi is now in a similar position. Does anyone ever learn from previous history?

For more:

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

CEO Watch - James McNerney, Boeing

Boeing’s CEO James McNerney may be in some trouble. Even though the company announced an increase in earnings greater than what Wall Street expected the continuing difficulties facing the airline manufacturer with regard to its delivery of its 787 Dreamliner model continues to place undue pressure on the CEO’s management status. I would suggest investors keep a close eye on Boeing and its management.

For more:

Chicago Tribune

Seattle Times

Recommended Reading - Losing One's Way, reputationXchange.com

Leslie Gaines-Ross who writes the reputationXchange.com blog for Weber Shandwick referred to a recent book by Jim Collins on How the Mighty Fall. The piece is worth a read and seems very instructive for current CEOs and top leaders.

New AOL CEO Begins to put His Stamp on the Firm

Tim Armstrong, AOL’s new CEO, is beginning to put his stamp on the company. Over the weekend Staci D. Kramer of PaidContent.org published a memo from Armstrong outlining his new AOL management team. Armstrong is trying to work his management magic to make for a real turnaround at AOL. Check out the memo and get a sense of his latest team members.

Recommended Reading - Proposal gives shareholders non-binding say on exec-pay, USA Today

The Obama administrations appears to be close to getting its proposal through Congress for a non-binding say over executive compensation in public companies. According to a story by Del Jones, for USA Today,

The Obama administration offered legislation Thursday that would require publicly traded companies to give shareholders a non-binding vote on the compensation of CEOs and other highly paid executives and to vote on exit packages, known as golden parachutes, at the time of a merger or acquisition.

It would appear the Obama administration is working hard to go right down the middle on this issue. While top executives from key associations are adamantly opposed to even non-binding resolutions on executive pay their counterparts such as corporate governance advocates and a number of institutional investors would prefer far greater teeth in the new proposal. At least this is a minor beginning.

CEO Watch- Jeffrey Peek, CIT

Jeffrey Peek, CIT’s CIT (NYSE) CEO since 2003 appears to have entered a status similar to many of the financial CEOs that were forced out during the financial crisis over the last year and a half, e.g., Stanley O’Neal of Merrill, Sir Fred Goodwin, Royal Bank of Scotland, Martin Sullivan, AIG … CIT has been in free fall of late and is looking to the government for help. It is unlikely Peek will remain as CEO after the company’s crisis manages to come under control. According to a story by Paul Tharp in the New York Post,

The White House is “in advanced talks” trying to extinguish a sudden financial wildfire that could swallow CIT Group, the financial firm that bankrolls the nation’s small businesses.

… The company, which reported more than $3 billion of losses in the past eight quarters, said it hired Skadden, Arps as an adviser. Skadden is known for its work in mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcies.

CIT warned yesterday in internal documents that it’s in danger of running out of cash unless it can get a second round of federal bailout help like that of Wall Street’s banks and other cash-strapped financial firms.

Peek can be expected after the crisis is handled to find himself a lightning rod for the company’s risky business decisions. Keep a close eye on how Peek handles the current crisis and how he is ultimately portrayed by institutional investors and the government. In a story by Ari Levy and Linda Shen of Bloomberg they examine the difficulties Peek and CIT are facing. The writers quote Sean Egan, president of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. in Haverford Pennsylvania,

“You could make a cogent argument that senior management didn’t have a good grasp of the financial storm that was on the horizon,” … “CIT has been through a number of near-death experiences. This time they cut it too close.”

The Bloomberg reporters go on to say,

… On Peek’s watch, the shares soared to a record $61.59 in February 2007 before plunging 98 percent as the company reported eight straight money-losing quarters. CIT’s debt rating was cut by Standard & Poor’s yesterday to seven levels below investment grade, as the ratings firm cited company requests to draw down on credit lines.

Moody’s also slashed its rating yesterday, to B3 from Ba2, or six levels below investment grade, because of “inadequate progress” toward improving liquidity. CIT, which lends to 950,000 businesses, warned that a collapse would put manufacturing and retail clients at risk.

It is only a matter of time for Peek.

For more:

Financial Times (update July 16)

New York Times (update July16)

Half-yearly Executive Turnover Continues to Decline

Liberum continues to see overall declines in executive turnover across key categories. In our latest research, the first half of 2009 saw declines in CEO turnover of 35%, CFO turnover by 42% and C-level turnover of 36% respectively when compared with the same half-year period in 2008. The declines were similar for the second quarter when examined on a quarterly basis. Below are graphical representations of Liberum's most recent research on executive turnover trends for the first six months of 2005 - 2009. Liberum expects executive turnover to begin to slowly increase as we move into the Fall. Summer turnover is expected to remain slow despite the fact that overall unemployment remains extremely high.