“Let’s fix what’s not working”: Boeing changes CEO, a big shake-up in leadership is coming

Chairmen and director of the commercial aircraft unit are also leaving

In a major shakeup for Boeing’s leadership, CEO Dave Calhoun revealed this Monday that he intends to leave the company by the end of the year. The company’s president and the director of the commercial aircraft unit are also leaving.

Boeing chairman Larry Kellner will not run for re-election and the board has already elected former Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf as his successor.

The company also announced that Stan Deal, leader of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will retire. Stephanie Pope, Boeing’s chief operating officer since January, takes over effective immediately.

Boeing has been buffeted for more than five years by problems with its planes, including two fatal crashes with the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people and, more recently, the explosion of the door of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max. in January, leaving a hole in the side of the plane. The problems led to several landings for safety reasons and more than $31 billion in accumulated losses.

In a letter to Boeing employees on Monday, Calhoun called the Alaska Airlines incident “a defining moment for Boeing.”

“The eyes of the world are on us,” he said when announcing his plans to leave. “We will fix what isn’t working and put our company back on the path to recovery and stability.”