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Boeing's comeback is in her hands: For the aerospace giant to rebound, Elizabeth Lund has to churn out a lot of 737s and 787sBoeing's comeback is in her hands: For the aerospace giant to rebound, Elizabeth Lund has to churn out a lot of 737s and 787sCrain's Chicago Business; Chicago Vol. 45, Iss. 13, (Mar 28, 2022): 1.When Elizabeth Lund was growing up in Tulsa, Okla., she tagged along with her older brother, begging to play tackle football against the boys in their neighborhood. "He said: 'If you don't catch the ball, you don't get to play,' " she says. "You rise to the level. It was tough love from an early age. That's helpful in life." So she wasn't intimidated years later, when she moved from an engineering office to the factory floor at Boeing. Today she's responsible for production of all the company's commercial jets and is the highest-ranking woman in Boeing's commercial aircraft business. Lund's new role as senior vice president and general manager of airplane programs is crucial to Boeing's effort to pull out of one of its worst crises ever. Since 2019, manufacturing defects and safety lapses have sidelined the 737 Max and 787 jets, hammering Boeing's finances, angering customers, alienating regulators and giving archrival Airbus an opening to grab more orders. Boeing suffered another blow March 21, when an older model of the 737, operated by China Eastern Airlines, crashed in southern China with 132 people aboard. China is a key market for Boeing, and it has yet to restart deliveries of the 737 Max to customers there. In the past three years, Boeing's total revenue is down 38%, and it hasn't made a full-year profit. The company's stock has been cut in half since regulators grounded the 737 Max in 2019 after two deadly crashes killed 346 people. Just as regulators cleared the 737 Max to fly again in late 2020, they raised questions about quality-control problems with the 787. Deliveries of the 787, a new long-range jet that was a big hit with customers, have been suspended since May. DELIVERIES Boeing's hopes for financial recovery hinge to a large degree on Lund's ability to accelerate commercial jet deliveries, which have fallen to half their level before the jets crashed and COVID-19 smothered demand for planes. A big jump in deliveries also would position the company to repair customer relationships, regain investor confidence and take the fight to Airbus again. "She has to fix the problems on the '87 and ramp up the '37, and fix relations with the FAA," says Scott Hamilton, a longtime Boeing watcher who's managing director of Leeham, an aviation consultant in Bainbridge Island, Wash. New 737s started rolling off the line again in 2020, but Boeing wants to ramp up production from 26 planes a month to 31. The company wants to gradually get 787 production back to five planes a month, well shy of its peak of about 14. Boeing also plans to increase production of the 777, from two planes a month to three, while delivering an updated version of the jet next year. "This is our year to really get back on track," Lund, who was promoted in December, said in an interview before the 737 crash in China. "It's about delivery being predictable, getting rate increases to happen seamlessly. Our customers are counting on us. Executing flawlessly is difficult, and we need it across all programs." There's also the matter of rebuilding Boeing's relationship with the FAA, which deteriorated badly as investigations into the initial regulatory approval process for the 737 Max revealed the company didn't fully disclose design changes that ultimately led to the crashes. "It's a lot," she says of the to-do list, with more optimism than resignation. "We have challenges in front of us, but . . . this is stuff we know how to do: We design great airplanes and build great airplanes. We know how to increase rate and focus on quality. It's really sort of getting our legs back under us." Such a to-do list would be no small feat in normal times, but nothing has been normal at Boeing since the 737 Max was grounded. The company hired a new CEO and replaced half its board of directors. Pandemic-related layoffs reduced headcount by 11,000, including about 2,500 engineers. "It's been a long time since resources have fallen to this level," says Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, an aerospace consulting firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich. "And they're facing tremendous criticism from regulators and customers. It's about as bad as I've ever seen it in terms of challenges. She has a lot of work cut out for her." Delivery delays continue to frustrate key customers. American Airlines said holdups in getting new 787s are forcing it to put off some international flying. United Airlines also grumbled about delivery delays at a recent investor conference. If Lund can deliver, it will go a long way toward getting the company back into the good graces of customers and investors. It also would position her to rise higher at Boeing. BACKGROUND At 57, Lund is the highest-ranking female executive in Boeing's commercial aircraft business. She's also one of five women on the 20-member executive council that reports to CEO Dave Calhoun. She's only the second woman to lead commercial-aircraft manufacturing at the company. Lund came to Boeing in 1991 with a master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Missouri. Her first job, as a seating engineer, was to help airlines figure out seating layouts for the planes they were buying. She moved into management before making the jump to manufacturing, where she had responsibility for production of several key aircraft—including the 777, 767 and 747—en route to overseeing all of Boeing's supply chain for commercial aviation in 2019. Along the way, she also was site leader for Boeing's largest site, in Everett, Wash., and had stints in product development. "To go from engineering, particularly as a woman, particularly then, to be the manufacturing leader in what's been traditionally a male-leadership domain—it's tough," says Carolyn Corvi, the first woman to be vice president of airplane programs at Boeing, from 2005 to 2009. She promoted Lund from engineering management to lead production of the 777, as Boeing was overhauling how it made airplanes. "You don't go in and tell those guys how to do that job," Corvi says. "She had to be resilient and be a good listener and a good learner, and be firm. People supported her because they believed in her." One of the challenges Lund faces in getting 787 production back on track is doing it under closer FAA scrutiny than Boeing has ever had. The FAA will be doing the final inspections of aircraft, something that Boeing used to do. Lund has put out fires before. A decade ago, she succeeded in getting a new model of Boeing's legendary 747 back on track after it had fallen behind schedule. "She was competing for resources at a time when the 787 was sucking all the oxygen out of the room," says Pat Shanahan, who once oversaw the 787 program and previously held the job Lund has now. "They've put her in jobs where the company has had problems. She gets all the hard jobs, and she does them well." |
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