Boeing Board to Add Nikki Haley, Who Helped Fight Union Drive

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. is poised to add an old ally to its board: Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley, 47, who as South Carolina governor fiercely opposed unionization drives at a Boeing factory, has been nominated as a director ahead of the aerospace giant’s annual meeting April 29. Securing the post, which pays upwards of $315,000 annually in cash and shares, would be one of Haley’s first moves since leaving the Trump administration for the private sector.

“Boeing will benefit greatly from her broad perspectives and combined diplomatic, government and business experience to help achieve our aspiration to be the best in aerospace and a global industrial champion,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement.

If elected, Haley would join another high-profile former ambassador: Caroline Kennedy, the former U.S. envoy to Japan under former President Barack Obama. Kennedy became a Boeing director in 2017.

Directors of the Chicago-based company are well-compensated for attending about seven meetings a year, as well as sessions of the committees they serve on. In 2017, they each received an annual cash retainer of $135,000 and $180,000 in restricted stock, plus additional fees if they led any committees, according to the company’s proxy statement.

By comparison, directors of companies in the S&P 100 earn about $293,000 annually in total compensation, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As UN ambassador for President Donald Trump, Haley pushed for tougher sanctions against North Korea and Russia, a stance that sometimes put her at odds with the White House.

Since leaving the post at the end of last year, Haley has formed “Stand For America,” an advocacy group promoting a more muscular stance against the two nations, along with fiscally conservative domestic policy. She is viewed as a potential Republican presidential contender for 2024.

To contact the reporters on this story: Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net;Anders Melin in New York at amelin3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren

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