GrahamWarwick/ATLANTA
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) president Harry Stonecipher cites "sharp differences" in management style as his reason for firing Herb Lanese, president of the McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) military-aircraft group, on 25 October.
The move was a surprise inside MDC as well as to outsiders. As chief financial officer, Lanese was responsible for the tough measures, including cutting the workforce from 148,000 people to 65,000 that turned MDC's fortunes around in the early 1990s.
Lanese was made president of the St Louis, Missouri-based MDA after Stonecipher was brought in as MDC president in 1994. He was one of two likely candidates to succeed Stonecipher, alongside recently appointed Douglas Aircraft president Mike Sears.
Stonecipher says that he and Lanese agreed "totally" on business objectives and strategy, but "-had sharp differences involving management and leadership styles. After two years of working together, it became obvious to me that these differences could not be reconciled," he says.
Stonecipher says that he was "very concerned" about a lack of effective communications. "I had a number of surprises I didn't like," he says, citing MDC's recent elimination from both the United Arab Emirates fighter and Australian lead-in fighter competitions.
Stonecipher also had differences with Lanese on "the pace and progress" of recovery from the recently ended 99-day strike at MDA. He categorically denies that Lanese's departure has anything to do with any investment decisions, inside or outside MDC.
MDC plans to appoint a new MDA president within 90 to 120 days. Meanwhile, Stonecipher has assumed the role.
See News Analysis, P28.
Source: Flight International
