Boeing’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, will step down at the end of the year amidst a string of safety incidents and production concerns.
The move is one of a series of board and management overhauls announced by the company as Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, retires from his role, and Board Chair Larry Kellner steps down from Boeing’s board re-elections.
Stephanie Pope, who was appointed to the brand new role of Chief Operating Officer in January 2024, will take over as Commercial Airplanes CEO. Who will replace Calhoun is yet to be decided.
This management overhaul, however, is reminiscent of Boeing’s management shift four years ago when Calhoun stepped into the CEO role, replacing Dennis Muilenberg amidst the fallout of the 737 MAX 8 crashes.
Since then, Boeing has made some efforts to improve safety. A new Aerospace Safety Committee was set up, with Boeing doubling down on its commitment to improving the manufacture and development of its aircraft. Yet, incidents have continued to occur – the most recent being the 737 MAX 9 mid-plug door blowout on Alaska Airlines’ flight 1282; the catalyst for this recent FAA safety investigation and increased scrutiny.
In an internal memo to Boeing employees, Calhoun said that the Alaska flight was a “watershed moment” for Boeing and that “we must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company.”
He added that Boeing 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.”
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, has welcomed this change, saying it was “much needed”. In a recent release titled ‘Ryanair welcomes Management Changes in Seattle’ it said that Ryanair also looked forward to working with the outgoing CEO and with Stephanie Pope “to eliminate the Boeing 737 delivery delays, which is slowing Ryanair’s growth through 2024.”
