Boeing: It continues to fall… into air gaps – the CEO leaves – Economic Mail

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down at the end of 2024 as part of a broad management shakeup at the embattled aerospace giant, according to CNBC.

Alaska Airlines: Passengers on 737 MAX Flight 9 may be 'crime victims'

Larry Kellner, Chairman of the Board of Directors, will also step down and will not run for re-election at Boeing's annual meeting in May. He will be succeeded as Chairman by Steve Mollenkopf, who has been a Boeing director since 2020 and former CEO of Qualcomm. Boeing said Mollenkopf will lead the board in selecting a new CEO.

Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will leave the company effective immediately. He will be replaced by Stephanie Pope, who recently became CEO of Boeing after previously running Boeing's global services.

The departures come as airlines and regulators intensify calls for major changes at the company after a series of quality and manufacturing defects on Boeing planes. Scrutiny intensified after the Jan. 5 incident in which a door seal on a nearly new Boeing 737 MAX jet exploded after 9 minutes from Alaska Airlines.

“As you all know, the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a defining moment for Boeing,” Calhoun wrote to employees on Monday. “We must continue to respond to this incident with humility and complete transparency. We must also instill 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 emerge from this moment a better company, drawing on all the lessons we have accumulated as we worked together to rebuild Boeing over the past few years,” he wrote.

“My decision”

Calhoun told CNBC in an interview Monday that the decision to resign was “100 percent” his.

“We have another mountain to climb,” Calhoun said. “Let's not be shy about the call to action. Let's not avoid the changes we need to make in our factory. Let's not avoid the need to slow down a little and let the supply chain catch up.”

Calhoun was named to the top job in late 2019 and took the reins at Boeing in early 2020 after the company ousted its previous CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, over his handling of the aftermath of two deadly 737 MAX crashes.

For months, Calhoun promised investors, airline customers and the general public that Boeing would get its myriad quality problems under control. The FAA has increased oversight of Boeing, and agency Director Mike Whitaker said after the Alaska Airlines crash that Boeing would be prohibited from increasing 737 production until the FAA was satisfied with the company's quality control.

Emergency landing of a Boeing plane

Boeing's production problems have delayed deliveries of new aircraft to customers and hampered development plans. The CEOs of some of the company's largest customers, including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, have complained publicly about the delay.

Ryanair, Boeing's largest customer in Europe, said on Monday it welcomed the management changes.

“Stan Dale has done great sales work for Boeing for many years, but he is not the person who can change the workflow in Seattle, where most of the problems have occurred in recent years,” Ryanair CEO Michael O Leary said. In a video clip posted on the social media platform X.

United CEO Scott Kirby said earlier this month that he urged Boeing to stop building the Max 10 planes for the company because it was unclear when the FAA would allow those planes to fly.

Last week, airline CEOs began scheduling meetings with Boeing executives to express their dissatisfaction with a lack of manufacturing quality controls and lower-than-expected production of the 737 MAX. Kellner and one or more other board members were scheduled to attend the meetings.

Also last week, Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West told an industry conference that Boeing will burn more cash than expected due to limited production of the 737 MAX.

Boeing shares rose less than 1 percent in early trading Monday after Calhoun's announcement. Shares are down 26% so far this year.