The 737 Max crisis leads to a change at Boeing’s top management. CEO Dave Calhoun will leave the position at the end of 2024, while the resignation of the chairman of the board of directors, Larry Kellner, will be effective from the annual meeting to be held in May. Steve Mollenkopf will replace Kellner, who has been part of the board since 2020. Another important change concerns Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who leaves the company with immediate effect; in his place Stephanie Pope, who became chief operating officer in December following leading Boeing Global Services.
The change at the top comes at a time when airlines and authorities are asking Boeing for changes within the company, following problems emerged regarding the production and quality of the planes, not least those which occurred on an Alaska Airlines plane, on January 5th with the explosion of a door in flight and the emergency landing. Boeing shares gained 2.8% on Wall Street, but have lost 27.5% since the beginning of the year.
Calhoun, a long-time non-executive adviser to Boeing with a career at General Electric and Blackstone, came to lead the group in 2020 following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia. He had been criticized for his overemphasis on financial results and targets, less on the quality and safety of the planes coming off the production lines.
While the United States Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation on which the FBI is also working, in an interview with CNBC Calhoun said that leaving was 100% his decision and that the future CEO of Boeing will be asked for his opinion.
“As we begin this transition period, I want to assure you that we will remain focused on completing the work we have done together to bring our company back to stability following the extraordinary challenges of the last five years, with safety and quality in everything we do,” he wrote in a letter to employees.
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2024-03-26 00:43:34
