James McNerney

Boeing

On June 30, 2005, Boeing hired McNerney as the chairman, president, and CEO. McNerney oversaw the strategic direction of the Chicago-based aerospace company with a focus on spending controls.

As Boeing's first CEO without a background in aviation, he made the decision to upgrade the 737 series to 737 MAX instead of developing a new model. According to the Seattle Times, McNerney made the decision to "establish a plant in North Charleston, S.C., attempting to bust Puget Sound unions — who were responsible for saving the much-delayed airliner. Later all Dreamliners assembly shifted there, where there have been ongoing production flaws." The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint alleging "Boeing's decision to transfer a second production line for its new 787 Dreamliner passenger plane to South Carolina was motivated by an unlawful desire to retaliate against union workers for their past strikes in Washington and to discourage future strikes." The complaint was later withdrawn as part of a settlement.

In the New York Times, writer Bill Saporito said, "Mr. McNerney’s decision meant rushing development of the 737 Max while managing the Federal Aviation Administration so that the certification of the redesigned jet — whose engines had been physically moved forward — would not require retraining of pilots, thus saving customers time and money." This "contributed to the two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that prompted the 737 Max’s grounding for nearly two years." Other articles allege that "Boeing engineers contended their power and decision-making ability often was overridden by cost-conscious executives, including McNerney, in recent decades." Gautam Mukunda, professor at Yale School of Management, called McNerney "arguably the worst CEO in American history".

Compensation

In 2007, as CEO of Boeing, W. James McNerney Jr. made $12,904,478 in total compensation, which included a base salary of $1,800,077, a cash bonus of $4,266,500, options granted of $5,871,650, and Other $966,251.

In 2008, his total compensation increased to $14,765,410, which included a base salary of $1,915,288, a cash bonus of $6,089,625, and options granted of $5,914,440.

In 2009, his total compensation decreased to $13,705,435, which included a base salary of $1,930,000, a cash bonus of $4,500,300, stock options granted of $3,136,251, stock granted of $3,136,242, and other compensation totaling $1,002,642.

In 2013, McNerney made $23.2 million in total compensation, which included a $1.9 million salary, $3.7 million stock award, $3.7 million stock option grant, and an annual incentive bonus of $12.8 million.

In 2014, as chairman and CEO of Boeing, McNerney made $29 million in total compensation. Of the total: $2,004,231 was received as a salary; $14,400,000 was received as an annual bonus and a three-year performance bonus; $6,272,517 was awarded as stock (none was received in stock options); and other compensation totaling $760,000.

Positions

McNerney has been a member of the Boeing board of directors since 2001. He is also a member of the board of directors of Procter & Gamble and IBM.

McNerney served as chairman of The Business Council in 2007 and 2008. He is a current member of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees, is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and was appointed as chairman of the President's Export Council by President Barack Obama.

In December 2016, McNerney joined a business forum assembled by then president-elect Donald Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues.