ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2021 - 12

PERSPECTIVES
in support of the defense business,
helping them build their U.K. operation.
It's one of the places in the world
where we really are localized; we have
a local Boeing U.K. presence that is
understood as a British company and
that interacts that way with the local
government and stakeholders. It has
been very effective and successful for
us. It began on the heels of a uniquely
challenging program, the Future
Logistics Information Services. It was
unique because it involved Boeing
taking over work that had been done by
the government itself, bringing 1,000
British government employees on board
as Boeing employees. It was one of
the more complicated transactions/
procurement processes we had ever
conducted. Our law group was right
there with the business helping stitch
that together. I see the way that has led
to a fabulous business presence in the
U.K today.
At Boeing Capital Corporation
(BCC), I just loved the whole job. It was
truly enjoyable to work in the financier
community. It was incredibly important
to ensure that liquidity was there for
our customers to take delivery of our
products. We did the first brand-new
operating lease in over a decade when
I was at BCC. It was in support of the
747-8 program. It was very rewarding
to support the commercial airplanes
program and, as I said, work with the
collective financier community in that
role. But China was also special; it
was an incredible time. I was running
our corporate operations and market
development there in a time when our
deliveries in China more than doubled.
There was just a lot of growth; that
made for a very dynamic season. So,
great experiences all around.
Jetrader: What are the biggest
changes you've seen both in the
company and wider aviation industry
over the years?
MA: We are in the middle of a really
significant inflection point. Our defense
business is evolving to meet significant
12 * THE OF F I C I AL PUBL I CAT I ON OF ISTAT
customer need for agility, building on
the digital enablement of our design,
our production and our sustainment
capabilities. It's also important right
now for all of our industry to be able
to deliver on the vision of an open
mission systems architecture that the
customers laid out in front of all of
us. So, that just drives a remarkably
important pivot right now that I think
will prove to be very significant over
the next decade. On the commercial
side, there are real similarities,
because digital enablement across
design, production and sustainment is
also radically moving forward with a
lot of pace. All this has to enable the
accelerated versatility we see in the
customers' business models, in their
fleets and in their model decisions.
We're having to meet that accelerated
focus of change in their networks and
models, and we're doing that through
our 737 and 787 family approaches, but
I do think that's a change that there's
so much agility and adaptability across
the airline industry.
be taking this on. For us, it was not
just the pandemic; it was the reality
of the crisis intersecting between
MAX and COVID-19. We're at a time
now where building a new strategic
architecture matters for the whole
enterprise. But the role of the chief
strategy officer belongs to really one
person, and that's the CEO. My job
in so many ways is just to make sure
that we can help articulate his vision
for the whole of the enterprise. I see
our responsibility in the strategy
group as being able to ask the right
questions, build the right data set
and then curate that conversation so
we have the right discussions and
drive to real decision points. One of
the words I use with my team a lot
is " choicefulness. " It's so important
that we be choiceful about all of our
decisions - including deciding what
good things we're not going to do. All
of this ultimately culminates in the
capital allocation process, because it's
about investment. It's about what you
invest in, where you go fast, where
Jetrader: You were named chief
strategy officer during the midst of
the pandemic. What have been your
goals? What roadblocks have you
encountered, and do you envision
any in the future?
MA: I started this job in October
2020, so we were pretty well into the
pandemic when I knew I was going to
you go slow, what your theory of win
is and how you sequence your activity.
All of that work is done in support of
that broader strategic architecture
that David Calhoun has laid out for the
enterprise. Likewise, my team is doing
that for each of the three business unit
leaders, so whether it's Stan [Deal] in
commercial, or Ted [Theodore Colbert
ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2021

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