Boeing jettisons its leadership
Boeing has shed its chairman, chief executive and the head of its core airliner-making division in a clearout designed to address the safety, production and governance concerns that have been engulfing the company.
Dave Calhoun, 66, the chief executive, will step down by the end of the year, while Larry Kellner, 65, the chairman, is leaving immediately. Kellner's successor will be Steve Mollenkopf, 56, the former chief executive of Qualcomm, the chip manufacturer, who will lead the search for Calhoun's successor.
Stan Deal, 57, the president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, is also leaving, with Stephanie Pope, 51, head of global services, succeeding him, Boeing said. The changes come after weeks of turmoil at Boeing after a mid-air incident involving the blowout of a door panel of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet carrying 171 passengers set off a wider crisis.
Its shares have dived by a quarter since the incident in January. It also has come under additional regulatory scrutiny, with US authorities ordering curbs to production to force the company to focus on safety and quality problems.
Boeing has come under fire from its customers over production problems and quality lapses. Last week airline chiefs bypassed Calhoun and demanded a meeting with other board members to vent their frustration.
This month John Barnett, a retired Boeing engineer who had claimed there were safety problems at the company and had been giving evidence in a formal deposition against it, was found dead in a truck. The local coroner said he had died of “self-inflicted” wounds.
Calhoun, a former Boeing chairman, was moved to be chief executive in 2020 after an earlier crisis triggered by two crashes involving Max jets that killed 346 people and led to the removal of Dennis Muilenburg, the previous boss.
In a message to colleagues, Calhoun said the Alaska Airlines incident had been a “watershed moment” for the company, adding: “We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency.”
Boeing is a powerhouse in airliner production, second only to Airbus, its European rival. Founded in 1916, it is said to be America's single biggest exporter by value. It employs more than 170,000 people and has 10,000 of its jets in operation worldwide.
Analysts broadly welcomed the shake-up as evidence that Boeing was taking its problems seriously, although they said that much would depend on the choice of new chief executive.
Michael O'Leary, 63, the head of Ryanair, a top Boeing customer, said he welcomed the “much-needed” management changes, adding that the shake-up would be good for the American group's customers.
Boeing shares were up US$2.39, or 1.3%, at US$191.06 in New York.