Exclusive: Ford's Mulally Got Wings at Boeing

Aviation consultant Scott Hamilton said Mulally deserves credit for straightening out Boeing's 1997 production breakdown and for the success of the 777. But should he share the blame for the breakdown in the 787 global supply chain?

"Whether it was that he didn't set out correctly or he followed the board's direction to spread the risk, that production model was put together on Mulally's watch," Hamilton said. But Leonard said the supply model needed to be changed.

"There is no reason to have a bunch of Boeing engineers overseeing Allied Signal (or other suppliers)," he said. "Hold them accountable, but you don't need redundant work. Where they really dropped the ball is on basic program management."

That, Leonard said, is Mulally's strength, but Mulally was gone when many of the failures occurred.

Though he left Boeing, Mulally retains an attachment. About six months after leaving, he demonstrated in a chance encounter with Leonard that he still cared passionately about the airplanes and the customers. Leonard recalled the evening when he stepped off an elevator at the Waldorf-Astoria and ran into Mulally and a group of 20 people, all in tuxedos.

>>Photo Gallery: 787 Dreamliner

Said Leonard: 'Alan comes running up, puts his arm around me, and says to the others, 'You gotta meet this guy -- this is Joe Leonard, chairman of AirTran.' The guy looks at us, totally disinterested, like 'what is AirTran?'

"But Alan says to me 'We're going up for cocktails, you have to come.' I had a suit, they were all wearing tuxes, and I said, 'I don't want to crash the party.' Still, I go up, and Alan's ignoring the other folks. He says, 'Is Boeing treating you right? Do I need to call anybody out there? If you need help, make sure you call me.' It shows that he cares. And he never stops."

-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C. For more of Mulally's thoughts, click here.

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