Dave Calhoun, President and CEO of embattled plane maker Boeing, has announced his decision to step down as CEO at the end of 2024 in the wake of unprecedented and highly public issues concerning the manufacturing quality of Boeing’s airplanes.
Calhoun will continue to lead Boeing through the year, according to a company press release, during which time he will attempt to “complete the critical work underway to stabilize and position the company for the future.”
Chairman of Boeing’s board of directors Larry Kellner has also signalled for the exits, stating he does not intend to stand for re-election at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting.
The board has elected Steve Mollenkopf to succeed Kellner as independent board chair, and Mollenkopf will lead the board's process of selecting Boeing's next CEO.
Calhoun and Kellner are not the only big name departures, as Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, will retire from the company with Stephanie Pope being appointed to lead BCA, effective March 25.
Pope was named chief operating officer of Boeing in January 2024. Previously, she was president and chief executive officer of Boeing Global Services and served as chief financial officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Kellner has served on the Boeing Board for 13 years and served as its chair since late 2019. As chair, he oversaw the establishment of a new board aerospace safety committee, and during his tenure led the recruitment of seven new independent directors, bringing deep engineering, safety, manufacturing and aerospace expertise to Boeing's board.
It’s important to note that Boeing has been at the center of a number of significant crises during Kellner’s time as board chair, and Calhoun was promoted to CEO following two deadly plane crashes that were directly related to poorly designed and implemented software.