Given the current status of UAL, it's only prudent to speculate who could make an effective head of the company going forward.
My natural choice is Alan Mulally. He started his career at Boeing, rising to general manager of the 777 program, them head of Boeing's commercial aircraft division. He is currently retiring as CEO of Ford. He is a high-profile, and highly respected figure within the American business establishment, and would make a big splash if he were to head UAL. Furthermore, there's a narrative for him ride on, given UAL's current situation, much as there was at Ford.
A little trip down memory lane will have us remember that there were whispers of Mulally being a potential replacement for UAL's Creighton in 2002.
Originally Posted by The Seattle Times - 2002
http://community.seattletimes.nwsour...slug=mulally07
Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Alan Mulally yesterday rejected speculation he is a candidate to become the new CEO of United Airlines.
"I am not pursuing the top job at United Airlines," Mulally said in an internal note to employees obtained by The Seattle Times.
"United is a great customer of ours and a fine airline," he said. "It is important to Boeing that United is successful in its search for a new leader. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with the wonderful people of United as a valued partner as we both strive to restore the health and vibrancy to our industry."
...
The news appeared to be a "trial balloon" aimed at gauging Mulally's interest in leading United.
No one stepped forward to claim responsibility for the initial reports. United and Boeing declined comment.
Russell Reynolds Associates, the Chicago-based company conducting the CEO search for United, refused to even acknowledge the news, citing the need to maintain tight lips in its business.
There's sufficient reason to believe that UAL's board was interested in recruiting Mulally to lead the company through what they had to have known was going to be a Ch.11 filling. His strong respect by labor at Boeing certainly made him an attractive candidate.
He's further had a strong working relationship with UAL in the past, the latter having been the launch customer for the 777, and one of four (UAL, BA, JAL, ANA) that had a close say in the design of the aircraft, an idea conceived and championed by Mulally.
Originally Posted by The Seattle Times
Shelly Jones, managing director in Korn/Ferry International's Seattle office, said that besides the search for a new boss at beleaguered Tyco International, the hunt to replace United's Creighton is the "highest-profile CEO search" going on right now.
"If I were doing (the recruiting for United)," she said, "(Mulally) certainly would be on my list. He's a logical choice. He knows United intimately."
For those who quip that the pay would scare him away:
Originally Posted by The Seattle Times
Mulally already has a high profile and well-paying job at Boeing. If the United position holds any allure, it's for nonfinancial reasons.
"People like Alan oftentimes are motivated by something like this by virtue of challenges of being the guy, the CEO," she said.
His current departure from Ford has left many speculating his next move.
Originally Posted by Business Week
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...ing-ford-motor
"With what he did at Ford, he’s pretty much the CEO of the decade,” said Brian Clark, a managing partner in Atlanta for Boyden Global Executive Search...
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Given his aerospace background, an airline would be a good fit, as would high-tech manufacturing companies, Clark said.
In sum, Mulally's history to spearhead progressive ideas (777 development process), terminate bad ones (Ford's Premier automotive group), combined with his "intimate knowledge" of UAL, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the company moving forward into the next decade.