I don't agree with the last paragraph. I don't think the stockholders of Bristow (keep the piper and his tune in the front of the mind) give two fecks about Bill Chiles ability to fly a helicopter. They care that the business is tightly run with increasing margins and revenues, end of.
The same will be true for the stockholders at EADS, however it does seem that the man now at the helm of Eurocopter is in fact a professional pilot but I don't expect much to change, do you?
Pitts, I'd say you just agreed with me. Share price over the truth, profit over doing the right thing. Cost-cutting over valuing experience.
to add:
A CEO demonstrates to his subordinates what is most valued in a company, effectively creating its culture. In the last year, my employer has sent me dozens of emails regarding fiscal and financial reporting policies, revenue generation strategies, auditing standards, corporate restructurings, senior appointment responsibility reassignments, and the list goes on and on and on and on and on.......
I have not received a single email announcing new (or lost) operations or contracts, I have never seen an email above the base level that refers to a customer at all, and the only mention of a helicopter at all is when one goes in the water.