Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of Arlington-based Boeing, will step down at the end of the year. The move, along with board chair Larry Kellner’s decision not to run for re-election, comes as the company deals with production problems and increased federal scrutiny after a mid-air door panel blowout on one of its jets.
“My decision to step down as CEO at the end of this year is one the board has been prepared for and will result in a number of changes at a management and governance level moving forward,” Calhoun said in a letter to employees. Boeing has 170,000 employees around the world, with 400 in Arlington.
“My long-time partner in all things Boeing, our Chair Larry Kellner, has advised the board and me that he does not intend to stand for re-election at our upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The board has elected Steve Mollenkopf to succeed Larry as chair. Steve will lead the board process of selecting my successor as CEO. Larry, too, had been considering the appropriate moment to turn over the reins after more than four years as chair and 13 years on our board, and concluded that the CEO selection process should be led by a chair who will stay at the helm as a partner to the new CEO,” the letter said.
The company said that Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal also will retire. Stephanie Pope, Boeing’s chief operating officer, will lead the commercial airplanes business unit, effective immediately.
In January, a wall panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet while it was in flight. That incident followed two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Those earlier incidents prompted Congress to order a review by an expert panel.
That panel of aviation experts in February concluded that aerospace company and defense contractor had “a lack of awareness of safety-related metrics at all levels” and that there was a “disconnect” on safety culture.
In his letter to employees, Calhoun, who became CEO in 2020 after the two deadly crashes, called the Alaska Airlines incident a “watershed” moment. “We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company,” he said.
“As we begin this period of transition, I want to assure you, we will remain squarely focused on completing the work we have done together to return our company to stability after the extraordinary challenges of the past five years, with safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do,” Calhoun said.
Feature image of Dave Calhoun courtesy Boeing
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