September 14, 2023
Boeing’s top executives, including CEO David Calhoun, have been working remotely, while employees are encouraged to return to the office.
Calhoun, who has been CEO since 2020, has been using a private jet to travel between his two homes in New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has reportedly rarely been seen at Boeing’s new headquarters in Virginia.
Other top executives, such as CFO Brian West and HR chief Michael D’Ambrose, are also working remotely. West has a small Boeing office near his home in Connecticut, while D’Ambrose works from a company facility near Orlando.
Boeing has defended the arrangement, saying that it is necessary to attract and retain top talent. The company has also said that it is empowering its leaders to spend less time sitting at a desk and more time engaging with employees, customers, and stakeholders.
Employees are not convinced as they argue that their leaders are not setting a good example by working remotely, while asking them to return to the office. Some employees have even begun displaying ironic “Lake Sunapee” signs in their cubicles, as a reference to Calhoun’s home in New Hampshire.
Michael D’Ambrose, Boeing’s Human Resources Chief since mid-2020, operates from a company facility near Orlando. While Boeing maintains that remote work decisions are made on a team-by-team basis, the leadership’s remote stance contradicts efforts to encourage employees to return to the office.
The sources for this piece include an article in Fortune.
