Dave Calhoun and Gautam Adani are prominent business figures whose companies have a documented connection in India’s aviation industry. However, there is no public confirmation that the two executives have a direct personal or business partnership. Their connection is indirect, involving Boeing, the American aerospace manufacturer formerly led by Calhoun, and Air Works India, an aircraft maintenance company later acquired by Adani Defence & Aerospace.
Boeing began collaborating with Air Works in 2021, when Calhoun was CEO. Adani Defence subsequently acquired control of Air Works in 2025 and increased its ownership to 99.98% in March 2026. This sequence explains the corporate link between the two businessmen without implying that they personally worked together.
Key takeaways
- Dave Calhoun and Gautam Adani have no publicly established direct business partnership. Their documented connection is through Boeing, Air Works, and Adani Defence.
- Boeing partnered with Air Works in February 2021, during Calhoun’s tenure as president and CEO, to support aircraft maintenance activities in India.
- Adani Defence’s first Air Works acquisition agreement, announced in October 2022, did not complete. A subsequent transaction gave it controlling ownership in 2025.
- Adani Defence increased its Air Works holding to 99.98% on March 11, 2026, according to an Adani Enterprises regulatory disclosure.
Who are Dave Calhoun and Gautam Adani?
Although both men are associated with major international businesses, their professional backgrounds differ.
Dave Calhoun, whose full name is David L. Calhoun, is an American corporate executive best known for leading Boeing. He became the company’s president and CEO on January 13, 2020, succeeding Dennis Muilenburg.
Calhoun’s tenure ended when Kelly Ortberg became Boeing CEO on August 8, 2024. He subsequently served in a transitional advisory role before retiring from Boeing on March 1, 2025, as confirmed in the company’s 2025 proxy statement.
Gautam Adani is an Indian industrialist and the founder and chairman of the Adani Group. His businesses operate across infrastructure, energy, ports, airports, defence, and aerospace.
The group’s expansion into aviation services provides the relevant connection with Boeing’s activities in India. Adani Defence & Aerospace, operating through Adani Enterprises, has pursued acquisitions and investments in aerospace and aircraft maintenance.
The two executives therefore represent different business organizations. Their connection becomes clearer through the history of Air Works rather than through their individual career biographies.
How did Boeing and Air Works become connected?
The corporate relationship began before Adani Defence acquired Air Works.
On February 4, 2021, Boeing announced a strategic collaboration with Air Works India to strengthen maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities for defence aircraft in India.
The original Boeing announcement described cooperation involving Indian Navy P-8I maritime patrol aircraft and Indian Air Force VIP aircraft.
Maintenance, repair, and overhaul, commonly shortened to MRO, involves inspecting, servicing, repairing, and maintaining aircraft to keep them operational and compliant with applicable technical requirements.
For Boeing, the collaboration formed part of its efforts to develop local maintenance capabilities in India. Air Works provided established aircraft engineering and maintenance operations.
The relationship also produced documented operational work.
In May 2022, Boeing reported that heavy maintenance checks were underway on three Indian Navy P-8I aircraft at Air Works.
Three months later, Air Works announced that it had completed Phase 32 maintenance checks on six Indian Navy P-8I aircraft.
According to the company’s August 4, 2022 announcement, the sixth aircraft had completed the maintenance process at its Hosur facility.
This work gives the Boeing–Air Works relationship practical significance. The collaboration involved aircraft maintenance activities rather than merely a general expression of interest in India’s aviation market.
Throughout these developments, Dave Calhoun was Boeing’s CEO.
However, the corporate announcements identify Boeing and Air Works as the participating organizations. They do not establish that Calhoun personally negotiated the agreement.
When did Adani Defence acquire Air Works?
The Adani connection developed through a separate acquisition process.
In October 2022, Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, signed an agreement to acquire a 69.41% stake in Air Works.
The transaction was intended to strengthen Adani Defence’s presence in India’s aviation maintenance sector.
However, signing an acquisition agreement does not necessarily mean the purchase has been completed.
Although some contemporary coverage described Adani as having already acquired Air Works, the October 2022 regulatory filing documented an agreement to acquire shares.
A subsequent assessment by CRISIL Ratings clarified what happened.
In its June 7, 2023 rating rationale, CRISIL reported that the original agreement’s contractual deadline had expired and that discussions to extend it were not continuing, according to information available to the agency.
The initial transaction therefore did not result in the proposed takeover.
The successful acquisition in 2025
Adani Defence returned with a new acquisition agreement in December 2024.
The company announced plans to acquire approximately 85.8% of Air Works, establishing a new route to controlling ownership.
This time, the acquisition proceeded to completion.
According to Adani Enterprises’ July 1, 2025 disclosure, Adani Defence completed its acquisition of approximately 85.1% of Air Works.
CRISIL subsequently reported a holding of 85.13%, consistent with the company’s rounded figure, and identified June 30, 2025, as the acquisition date.
The controlling acquisition was therefore completed by July 1, 2025.
This timing matters when discussing Calhoun and Adani.
Calhoun had already stepped down as Boeing CEO in August 2024 and retired from the company in March 2025. The completed Adani takeover occurred after both developments.
Consequently, the acquisition should not be described as a transaction completed while Calhoun was running Boeing.
Adani increased its ownership in 2026
The ownership structure changed again in March 2026.
In a regulatory disclosure dated March 11, 2026, Adani Enterprises reported that Adani Defence’s holding in Air Works increased from 85.76% to 99.98%.
That figure represents the latest precise ownership milestone established as of October 15, 2026.
Air Works also appears in Adani Enterprises’ 2025–26 annual-report coverage of its defence and aerospace operations, reflecting its place within the group’s aviation-services portfolio.
What does the Boeing–Adani connection mean?
The relationship has a specific corporate basis.
Boeing established a maintenance collaboration with Air Works in 2021. Adani Defence subsequently acquired the Indian maintenance company.
The relationship is especially relevant because Boeing’s association with Air Works did not disappear from the documented business context following the acquisition.
In October 2025, CRISIL Ratings identified Boeing among Air Works’ established customers in its assessment of the company.
The CRISIL rating rationale provides additional context for the connection between Boeing’s aircraft business and the Adani-owned maintenance company.
It does not, however, establish the terms of any specific Boeing–Air Works agreement active in October 2026.
The distinction between the companies and their senior leaders is essential.
Calhoun’s position as Boeing CEO during the original collaboration establishes the relevant leadership period. Gautam Adani’s position as founder and chairman of Adani Group establishes his association with the business group that later acquired Air Works.
Neither fact demonstrates that the two men personally signed a contract, held a joint investment, or negotiated directly with one another.
The documented history instead shows how Boeing’s existing relationship with an Indian maintenance provider became connected to the Adani Group through a later change in ownership.
As of October 15, 2026, Dave Calhoun is a former Boeing CEO, Gautam Adani remains chairman of the Adani Group, and Adani Defence’s last verified Air Works ownership disclosure reports a 99.98% holding.
The connection between Dave Calhoun and Gautam Adani is therefore best understood as an indirect corporate link through Air Works, rather than a confirmed personal business partnership.
