CHICAGO: Boeing Co Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg sought to bolster shareholder confidence in the company on Monday in his first general meeting since two fatal crashes of the 737 MAX triggered the jet’s grounding, lawsuits and investigations.
Battling the biggest crisis of his tenure, Muilenburg said the company was making steady progress towards getting approval for new software as questions linger over the safety of its fastest-selling aeroplane.
Muilenburg is Boeing’s chairman and president in addition to CEO, and faced calls to strip him of one of those titles at Monday’s meeting, but a motion to split the chairman and CEO roles did not pass.
Daniel Johnson, an engineer and a Boeing shareholder on and off since 1984, said Boeing “really stubbed their toe” by allowing the MCAS anti-stall system to rely on only one sensor.
“The question is: Will they need to rebrand? We don’t know how much the general public actually knows what a 737 MAX is” Johnson said outside the meeting.
About 150 shareholders gathered in the auditorium of the Chicago Field Museum for the meeting.
One shareholder during the meeting asked Muilenburg what Boeing was doing on safety assessments following the crashes.
The CEO said the company’s commitment to safety has not wavered.
Safety is at the core of what we do. Every day, we try to get better,” Muilenburg said.