ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2021 - 13

III] in services or Leanne [Caret] in defense and space, each of them stands as
their chief strategy officer for their own business. My team has come along in
support to help assure that that same process, that rigor and that discipline is
brought to bear.
What's wonderful about this job is its range. Our team is also responsible for
corporate development and for ventures. On the corporate development side, we're
managing the actual transactions -
the inorganic moves that we're
making, thinking through portfolio
shaping, everything that drops out
of that choicefulness of the strategic
architecture. That's just fun, because
I'm a deal guy. I love deals, so it's great
for me to keep my finger in the mix of
the deal pot, as it were. The ventures
piece of our portfolio is one of those
things that I probably don't talk enough
about right now. It's hard to articulate
right now, because clearly we changed
our investment prioritization through
the last two years. The focus, rightly, has had to be on stabilization, on quality,
on operational excellence and delivery. Yet we haven't lost sight of the horizon
and disruptive investments. Yes, we've had to reprioritize and to let go of many
disruptive investments. But we have not let go of disruptive investments as a
category. Wisk Aero is one of the best examples. We're going to collate a lot of our
disruptive effort around sustainability and around autonomy. And so we remain
committed to Wisk Aero, our joint venture with [Google co-founder] Larry Page
and Kitty Hawk that is developing the entirely new product category of eVTOL,
autonomous electric air taxis. As we build our strategic architecture, we are very
much keeping our eye on the horizon.
recently in China. So, it's a very active
process. They will set the timeline,
just as regulators have been setting
the timeline all around the world. We
have a lot of confidence in the airplane
and its performance and, ultimately,
At this point, the MAX has received recertification
in most parts of the world. There are some important
markets where we're still working with regulators;
Russia and China are foremost among those.
in its ability to be recertified all over
the world.
Jetrader: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the aviation
industry since the COVID-19 pandemic?
MA: Well, just getting through the pandemic has definitely required us to deal
with distress in the supply chain. I've also mentioned that we've got our focus on
our own need to establish quality and rigor in our delivery and execution. So, for
us, those are the critical elements coming out of the pandemic. Now, plainly, the
market itself has to also come out of the pandemic. We need travelers back in the
air. The whole industry does. There are some really promising signs for domestic
travel. International travel is a different, harder matter. That's the place where we
really need the governments, internationally, to pull together to think about how to
open borders between them. That will drive a lot of the resurgence because there's
a huge appetite for travel.
Jetrader: What is the outlook for the 737 MAX regaining certification
in China and other markets around the world where it has not yet
been granted?
MA: At this point, the MAX has received recertification in most parts of the world.
There are some important markets where we're still working with regulators;
Russia and China are foremost among those. In all of them, we're continuing
to work very actively with the regulators. Our teams are trading data sets back
and forth with regulators, answering questions and providing white papers.
We continue to work with international regulators and have conducted flights
Jetrader: Given your experience with
Boeing in China, when do you see
China offering a globally competitive
mainline aircraft program? How
does Boeing remain competitive?
MA: There's no doubt that we face
real competition from both Airbus and
COMAC going forward. I don't know
that there is any particular timeline
that anybody can put a finger on to nail
exactly when which company gets to
which share in any given year. I think
for us to lead, for us to win in the next
15-20-year time frame, we've really got
to bring a step change improvement
in our own production capabilities and
our design capabilities. We have to be
able to be the first through the door
to really succeed in doing the hardest
thing in aerospace, which is design
for manufacturing. It's obviously been
around for decades in a lot of other
industries, but it's been slower to be
implemented with real success in
aerospace. There are a whole series of
capabilities that we have to be leading
on just like I described earlier with the
digital enablement capabilities. These
are going to be, I think, part of winning
and leading in this industry. And clearly,
Jetrader * AUTUMN 2021 * 13
ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2021

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