EVERETT — To ensure its delayed 787 jet meets its new schedule, the Boeing Co. has bumped Mike Bair, who headed the Dreamliner program for the past three years.
On Tuesday, Boeing named Pat Shanahan, a vice president in the company’s defense division, as Bair’s successor. Bair will move to a marketing role with Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The changes, which are effective immediately, come less than a week after Boeing pushed back the maiden flight and delayed delivery of its first 787 by six months.
“Pat’s experience and proven record managing demanding and complex programs will allow him to build on the 787 team’s success as we tackle the challenges we face in bringing our new production system fully on line,” Scott Carson, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a press statement.
Some of those challenges include managing an extensive global supply chain, herding the Dreamliner through a short but rigorous flight certification program and ramping up production to a frenzied pace of 10 planes per month. And last week, Carson vowed to have the 787 nearly back on track by the end of 2009.
Industry observers weren’t surprised by Boeing’s management shuffle.
“You don’t remove the head of a program at this critical stage unless he’s somehow responsible for the delays,” said Scott Hamilton, an analyst with Leeham Co.
The move seemed to appease Wall Street, considering Boeing’s stock gained $1.11 Tuesday to close at $95.94. That’s after a drop of more than $10 since the beginning of October when rumors of a delivery delay began to take flight.
Shanahan is no stranger to Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes operation. The 45-year-old began his career with the aerospace company in 1986. He worked both in Boeing’s fabrication plant and in the Everett facility.
In 1999, Shanahan was named the head of Boeing’s 767-400 Extended Range jet program. The next year, Shanahan took the reins of the 757 program from Bair, who became the vice president of business strategy and marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. That’s the same role Bair steps back into.
For the past five years, Shanahan has worked for Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems. He initially led the Rotorcraft division, which operated out of Boeing’s Philadelphia and Mesa, Ariz., locations. Two years later, Shanahan took over leadership in Boeing’s missile defense programs, including the ground-based midcourse defense system.
“He knows how to deliver results, understands our customers and their requirements, and has the leadership skills to get the job done,” Carson said.
Under Shanahan, Boeing hopes to see its first 787 take flight next spring. By the time the company delivers its first 787 next November or December, Boeing intends to have roughly 40 Dreamliners built in order for the company to deliver 109 787s by the end of 2009.
Bair took over the 787 program in 2004 when Boeing booked its first Dreamliner. The company has more than 700 orders for its fuel-efficient 787.
As analyst Hamilton points out, Bair’s departure comes at a critical time in the program, which some could interpret as a risky move. However, both Hamilton and analyst Richard Aboulafia, with the Teal Group, thought Shanahan’s newness to the 787 program could be just what it needs.
“Given the timing, they might have decided that a fresh face would be best, would inspire confidence,” Aboulafia said.
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