Editors’ Note

Landon Loomis was appointed Boeing Company’s Vice President for Global Policy in August 2020 and also serves as Managing Director for Boeing Brazil. He joined Boeing in September 2019 as the senior director for Trade and Alliances on the Embraer Partnership and Group Operations team. Prior to joining Boeing, Loomis served in the White House as a special adviser to Vice President Mike Pence from April 2017 to August 2019. He has also served in various U.S. government roles, including policy adviser in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as well as commercial attaché at the U.S. embassies in Beijing and Brasília. He has resided in and worked in 10 countries in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. Loomis has a master’s degree in international economics and is fluent in four languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish.

Company Brief

Boeing (boeing.com) is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As a top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries, leveraging the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.

How do you define Boeing’s culture and how critical is culture to the success of the company?

Teammates across the company are committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion and creating a culture where everyone is included, valued, respected and supported in reaching their full potential. A culture of openness and accountability requires teammates to seek out perspectives, to speak up and to listen without judgment. That’s why we’re focused on helping each team member develop habits around seeking, speaking and listening to drive and sustain behavior change and habit formation that enable us to live our values, improve business outcomes and strengthen teams.

This approach builds on what is at the core of our culture at Boeing: the desire for continuous improvement in ourselves and our company. In everything we do and in all aspects of our business, we make safety our top priority, seek first-time quality and hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards.

By committing fully to our values, communicating with transparency and delivering results with excellence, we will earn and retain the confidence of our customers, suppliers and investors; our team members; and everyone who uses our products and services.

Will you highlight Boeing’s commitment to diversity and inclusion?

Boeing accelerated its commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion in the wake of glaring instances of racial injustice in 2020. We resolved to confront discrimination, inequities and injustice and accelerate our efforts to advance equity for all. This isn’t just the right thing to do – it is also good business. Boeing aspires to be a truly global company, and in order to understand, serve and satisfy our diverse customer network, our people must be able to lead and contribute to cross-functional, multinational teams that leverage the viewpoints of our diverse employee base.

It is clear we have an opportunity to be a force for change within our walls and in our communities – and we have been taking important steps in that direction. In April, Boeing released its first Global Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Report which shows our diversity metrics, describes our aspirations and outlines the steps we’re taking to improve. We’re not satisfied with the levels of representation across our company and industry, and we’re committed to showing progress by reporting annually.

How engrained is diversity and inclusion in Boeing’s culture and values?

Diversity and inclusion are core values at Boeing. While our diversity numbers are on par with the aerospace and defense industry, we want to do better. In 2020, Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun unveiled Boeing’s equity action plan to root out racism, advance progress on key measures of equity and inclusion, and strengthen the company’s commitment to community investments and diverse suppliers.

We are clear-eyed in our vision for a more equitable future, but realistic about what lies ahead. That’s why we’re committing to report our progress every year, clearly outlining our goals, such as increasing the representation of our Black teammates in the U.S. by 20 percent and closing representation gaps for historically underrepresented groups. We’re also focused on creating processes and systems that are fair, equitable and transparent. On top of this foundation of systems, processes and practices that reduce the opportunity for bias, we continue to implement specific, localized and targeted tactics.

Will you elaborate on the impact of diversity on Boeing’s business performance?

Prior to the pandemic, aviation transported 4.5 billion passengers and $7 trillion of goods around the world per year – our industry is proud to serve as the indispensable bridge that links people and cultures from across the world. Within our four walls, the principals of equity, diversity and inclusion are foundational to our business success – diversity is a critical driver of quality, safety and innovation. We have a responsibility to support, empower and equip the world’s best talent to reach their full potential here at Boeing. Our people are one of our greatest assets and creating a sense of belonging is foundational to our collective success.

How valuable has it been to have the commitment of Boeing’s board and senior management in its diversity and inclusion efforts?

Our leadership team, with the full support of our Board of Directors, has considered the bigger picture of our larger role and influence in society. Notably, and starting with our own internal community, in the last year we have put a bright spotlight on confronting racism and addressing racial equity and inclusion at Boeing. Our commitment to enhance equity and inclusion for all teammates starts with our leaders and extends to every member of our global team.

What do you tell young, diverse talent about the opportunities that exist to grow and lead in the aerospace industry?

Our industry serves as a bridge that connects people and perspectives from across the world. This mission inspires us and reminds us that diversity is not just a byproduct of what we do, it is essential to our success as a truly global company. Attracting, retaining and promoting young diverse talent is not just “nice to have,” it is absolutely necessary if we are going to truly understand, serve and satisfy our diverse customer network across the globe. We are proactively working to deepen and broaden our diverse global workforce and taking focused, intentional steps to open spaces for the full range of voices to be heard. This task is a priority focus for our company – getting it right will offer us a competitive advantage as we tackle the challenges ahead.