Boeing-Spirit: Spirit Aero chief in spotlight as Boeing searches for new CEO

Boeing's long-awaited announcement that it will buy back its struggling supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, now shifts the focus of investors to the planemaker's search for a new CEO. Boeing has been looking for a new head after Dave Calhoun said in March he would step down by year-end, in a broad management shakeup following a January mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX plane. Several potential candidates have emerged, including Patrick Shanahan, who has been running Spirit AeroSystems for the past nine months. Other candidates include Boeing's COO, Stephanie Pope, and current board chair Steve Mollenkopf. Regardless of who is named CEO, Shanahan, 62, is notable for his previous tenure at Boeing and current role as Spirit's CEO. An engineer by training, during his 31-year career at the planemaker he was known as "Mr. Fix-It" for his ability to turn around poorly performing programs. "It's very significant having Shanahan back into Boeing as an executive," said Bill George, former Medtronic CEO and executive fellow at Harvard Business School. "They need someone who understands the technology or aerospace technology." Shanahan took the reins at Spirit last October after his predecessor resigned following a series of mishaps at the supplier, which makes Boeing's 737 fuselages and other airframe components. After taking over, he vowed to stabilize operations and improve cash flow at Spirit. But the Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout dealt a big blow to Shanahan's turnaround plans for Spirit. Federal investigators discovered that the panel was removed by Boeing workers to repair rivet damage present when the aircraft was delivered by Spirit last year.<br/>