Governance News to Watch

Boeing, the American aircraft maker, is in the news almost daily around its well-publicized manufacturing issues. Several scary mishaps involving new Boeing planes and lengthy (and lengthening) delivery delays on next-generation aircraft put CEO David Calhoun in the hot seat before Congress on January 24, 2024. Now comes reports in the Wall Street Journal and airplane blogs that Boeing's board of directors is considering meeting with airline CEOs without Calhoun present (Reuters reports the board chair already agreed to meet).

This unusual step--essentially the governing board hearing complaints from customers without the CEO at their side--is something to keep an eye on as it may be a harbinger of things to come in other sectors. We regularly hear in focus groups with parents that they would like to have an opportunity to bring complaints to the board, yet good governance practice in the private, independent school space is for this not to happen. The proverbial buck stops with the head of school (CEO), and anything else undermines the head's authority, or so the thinking goes.

But a highly visible example of a corporate board engaging directly with stakeholders who are, in effect, bypassing management about a quality issue will surely be cited by parents as precedent for the same in our sector. Best to begin framing your response now by conducting a what-would-we-do-if-this-happened-here case study drill with your board and leadership team.