Informs Air Force of Decision, Investigation
Boeing Executive Vice President and
CFO Mike Sears (below, right) has been dismissed for cause
effective immediately as the result of circumstances surrounding
the hiring of Darleen Druyun, a former U.S. government official.
Druyun, who has been vice president and deputy general manager of
Missile Defense Systems, also has been dismissed for cause.
Sears was dismissed for violating company policies by
communicating directly and indirectly with Druyun about future
employment when she had not disqualified herself from acting in her
official government capacity on matters involving Boeing. In
addition, an internally initiated review found both attempted to
conceal their misconduct.
“Compelling evidence of this
misconduct by Mr. Sears and Ms. Druyun came to light over the last
two weeks,” said Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit.
“Upon review of the facts, our board of directors determined
that immediate dismissal of both individuals for cause was the
appropriate course of action.”
Over the past several months Boeing has made a concentrated
effort to enhance its programs and policies to ensure understanding
that ethical breaches will not be tolerated. “The board of
directors retained former Sen. Warren Rudman of Paul, Weiss,
Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to review Boeing’s ethics
programs,” Condit said. “One of the first actions we
took as a result was to create the Office of Internal Governance,
with its leader reporting directly to me. The board and I have
asked Senator Rudman to extend his review and examine
Boeing’s procedures and practices on hiring government
employees to ensure this type of incident never happens
again,” said Condit.
“Boeing must and will live by the highest standards of
ethical conduct in every aspect of our business,” Condit
said. “When we determine there have been violations of our
standards, we will act swiftly to address them, just as we have
today.
“The action taken today reflects in no way on the
financial condition of the company, which remains excellent,”
Condit added.
Boeing has informed the Department of the Air Force of the
actions taken and will continue to cooperate with the government in
its ongoing investigation regarding this matter. It is not possible
to predict at this time what actions the government might take
against the individuals or Boeing and the consequences of those
actions.