Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Boeing CEO to Exit in Broad Management Shakeup as Manufacturing Issues Plague Storied Plane Maker
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
March 25, 2024

Boeing announces CEO David Calhoun's departure amid leadership changes, facing intense scrutiny and efforts to enhance safety and quality. (AP/File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Boeing CEO David Calhoun will step down from the embattled plane maker at the end of the year as part of a broad management shakeup after a series of mishaps at one of America’s iconic manufacturers.

Immediate Retirement and New Leadership

Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplanes unit, will retire immediately. Stephanie Pope, the company’s chief operating officer for less than three months, has taken over leadership of the key division.

The company said board Chairman Lawrence Kellner, a former airline chief, won’t stand for re-election in May and will be replaced by a former Qualcomm CEO.

Boeing Under Pressure

Boeing has been under intense pressure since early January, when a panel blew off a brand-new Alaska Airlines 737 Max. Investigators say bolts that help keep the panel in place were missing after repair work at the Boeing factory.

The Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up its scrutiny of the company, including putting a limit on production of 737s. An FAA audit of Boeing’s 737 factory near Seattle gave the company failing grades on nearly three dozen aspects of production.

Airline executives have expressed their frustration with the company, and even minor incidents involving Boeing jets have attracted extra attention.

Increased Scrutiny After Crashes

Fallout from the Jan. 5 blowout has raised scrutiny of Boeing to its highest level since two Boeing 737 Max jets crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia. In all, the crashes killed 346 people.

In a note Monday to employees, Calhoun, 67, called the accident “a watershed moment for Boeing.” that requires ”a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company.”

“The eyes of the world are on us, and I know we will come through this moment a better company, building on all the learnings we accumulated as we worked together to rebuild Boeing over the last number of years,” he said.

Efforts to Improve Quality

Boeing’s most significant effort to improve quality has the opening of discussions about bringing Spirit AeroSystems, which builds fuselages for the Max and many parts for that and other Boeing planes, back into the company. Mistakes made at Spirit, which Boeing spun off nearly 20 years ago, have compounded the company’s problems.

Calhoun said the two companies are making progress in talks “and it’s very important.”

CEO’s Decision to Leave

Calhoun said the decision to leave was his. Calhoun was a Boeing director when he became CEO in January 2020, replacing Dennis Muilenburg, who was fired in the aftermath of the Max crashes. In 2021, Boeing’s board raised the mandatory retirement age for CEO to keep Calhoun in the job.

The company has chosen former Qualcomm CEO Steven Mollenkopf to become the new board chairman and to lead the search for Calhoun’s replacement.

Analysts’ Take on the Shakeup

Richard Aboulafia, a longtime aerospace analyst and now a consultant at AeroDynamic Advisory, said the management shakeup “is likely to be a pivotal moment in Boeing’s history, and probably a very positive one,” but the outcome depends on the next CEO. He said Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and acting U.S. Defense secretary who has led Spirit AeroSystems since last fall, would be “a great choice.”

Cai von Rumohr, aerospace analyst at Cowen, said the management changes are “a partial step toward changing its culture to underscore safety and rebuild investor confidence in the company.” He said the fact that Calhoun gave more than eight months’ notice will help the Boeing board make “a considered decision” instead of “a knee-jerk reaction.”

New Leadership in Commercial Airplanes Business

Pope, the new head of the commercial-airplanes business, was promoted to Boeing chief operating officer only in January. Before that, she was president and CEO of Boeing’s services business and chief financial officer of the airplanes division.

Shares of The Boeing Co. rose about 1% in early trading.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

22 Miles on Foot, 10 Minutes on a Tram: An ‘Extraordinary’ Day Hike

DON'T MISS

Bakersfield to Host Sanders and AOC in ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Event

DON'T MISS

Jaguar and Land Rover Maker Pauses Shipments to US as It Develops Post-Tariff Plans

DON'T MISS

China Hit Brakes on TikTok Deal After Trump Announced Wide-Ranging Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Shohei Ohtani Throws Second Bullpen Since Resuming Mound Ramp Up

DON'T MISS

Visalia Traffic Stop Nets $30K in Xanax, Marijuana

DON'T MISS

Fresno Joins Global Protest Against Donald Trump and Elon Musk

DON'T MISS

2 US Border Inspectors Charged With Taking Bribes to Wave in People Without Documents

DON'T MISS

The Latest: Trump’s Tariffs Unleash Trade War and Calls for Negotiations

DON'T MISS

Phone Footage Appears to Contradict Israel’s Account in Troops’ Killing of 15 Palestinian Medics

UP NEXT

Bakersfield to Host Sanders and AOC in ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Event

UP NEXT

Jaguar and Land Rover Maker Pauses Shipments to US as It Develops Post-Tariff Plans

UP NEXT

China Hit Brakes on TikTok Deal After Trump Announced Wide-Ranging Tariffs

UP NEXT

Shohei Ohtani Throws Second Bullpen Since Resuming Mound Ramp Up

UP NEXT

Visalia Traffic Stop Nets $30K in Xanax, Marijuana

UP NEXT

Fresno Joins Global Protest Against Donald Trump and Elon Musk

UP NEXT

2 US Border Inspectors Charged With Taking Bribes to Wave in People Without Documents

UP NEXT

The Latest: Trump’s Tariffs Unleash Trade War and Calls for Negotiations

UP NEXT

Phone Footage Appears to Contradict Israel’s Account in Troops’ Killing of 15 Palestinian Medics

UP NEXT

Trump and Netanyahu to Discuss Gaza Crisis and Tariffs at Upcoming Meeting

China Hit Brakes on TikTok Deal After Trump Announced Wide-Ranging Tariffs

18 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Throws Second Bullpen Since Resuming Mound Ramp Up

19 hours ago

Visalia Traffic Stop Nets $30K in Xanax, Marijuana

19 hours ago

Fresno Joins Global Protest Against Donald Trump and Elon Musk

20 hours ago

2 US Border Inspectors Charged With Taking Bribes to Wave in People Without Documents

21 hours ago

The Latest: Trump’s Tariffs Unleash Trade War and Calls for Negotiations

22 hours ago

Phone Footage Appears to Contradict Israel’s Account in Troops’ Killing of 15 Palestinian Medics

23 hours ago

Trump and Netanyahu to Discuss Gaza Crisis and Tariffs at Upcoming Meeting

23 hours ago

Trump Doubles Down That Tariffs Will Pay Off for Americans

23 hours ago

Senate GOP Approves Trump’s Tax Breaks and Spending Cuts After Late-Night Session

23 hours ago

22 Miles on Foot, 10 Minutes on a Tram: An ‘Extraordinary’ Day Hike

The steep trail near the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was covered in inches of spongy fallen needles and peppered with ankle-twist...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

22 Miles on Foot, 10 Minutes on a Tram: An ‘Extraordinary’ Day Hike

18 hours ago

Bakersfield to Host Sanders and AOC in ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Event

18 hours ago

Jaguar and Land Rover Maker Pauses Shipments to US as It Develops Post-Tariff Plans

18 hours ago

China Hit Brakes on TikTok Deal After Trump Announced Wide-Ranging Tariffs

19 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Throws Second Bullpen Since Resuming Mound Ramp Up

A Visalia traffic stop on Friday, April 4, 2025, for tinted windows led to the arrest of a 22-year-old man after police found $30,000 worth of Xanax pills and a pound of marijuana in his vehicle. (Visalia PD)
19 hours ago

Visalia Traffic Stop Nets $30K in Xanax, Marijuana

20 hours ago

Fresno Joins Global Protest Against Donald Trump and Elon Musk

21 hours ago

2 US Border Inspectors Charged With Taking Bribes to Wave in People Without Documents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend