I watched the new Netflix documentary called “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” this morning. It is excellent – but heartbreaking.
It is interesting that throughout the documentary, there was no mention of the Board of Directors at all. I guess when the Chairman is also the CEO (and President), one can hardly expect the board to provide effective oversight. I will never be convinced that there can be good governance if the Chairman is also the CEO (or an Executive Chairman). While the independent directors on the Board may not be aware of the safety failures, the documentary touches on the toxic corporate culture and incentives that clearly the Board is responsible for. One also has to ask what steps the Board took to ensure there is an effective three lines of defence and that issues and concerns are escalated.
I have also started reading the book “Flying Blind” by Peter Robison, which should be excellent.
In volume 9 of the Corporate Governance Case Studies series published by CPA Australia which I edit, there is a fairly comprehensive case study on Boeing which my students prepared and which I substantially rewrote and added more information. The case study covers a wide range of corporate governance issues, and can be downloaded from here.
