The Big Picture

Vincent Boland: Can the new Rolls-Royce boss pilot its return to the top flight?

There may be turbulence ahead for Tufan Erginbilgic, recently appointed chief executive of the British aircraft engine manufacturer, but there are reasons to be hopeful

The former jewel in Britain’s industrial crown, Rolls-Royce, based in Derby, has underperformed in the stock market for a decade. Picture: Getty

In the corporate world, irrelevance can be a fate worse than failure. Some companies fly high and then fall to earth after missing a pivotal moment in their particular industry, or being led into strategic calamity by an over-mighty chief executive, or betting on the wrong technology, or entering markets they did not understand.

Some once-great companies have suffered this fate. General Electric, a US industrial conglomerate that was once the world’s most valuable company, ...