Boeing's New Airplanes Chief Plans To Stick to Mulally Playbook

TWIN ENGINES

As Boeing's top airplane salesman, Scott Carson played a pivotal role in recapturing the lead in sales from Airbus, while making the 787 one of the hottest new jets ever launched. His next job: keeping one of the most dramatic corporate turnarounds of the decade on track.

Carson was elevated to president/CEO of Boeing's Commercial Airplanes unit after the surprise Sept. 1 resignation of Alan Mulally, a 37-year company veteran who left to take the top job at Ford Motor Co. In addition to the formidable challenge of guiding the 787 through critical development milestones, including a first flight next year, Carson will have to carefully calibrate a scheduled ramp-up of 737 and 777 production to avoid the supply chain missteps that bedeviled Boeing during the industry's last upturn. He's also likely to face a renewed challenge from Airbus, which is revamping its management team as it seeks to recover from missteps on its A380 and A350 aircraft programs (see p. 39).

Carson says he plans to stick with the playbook left by Mulally, who had been president of the airplanes business since 1998 and CEO since 2001. Mulally is widely admired for fixing Boeing's airplane manufacturing system after the 1990s debacle, implementing lean manufacturing, outsourcing nonessential component work and bolstering profit margins.