The CEO of Boeing has announced plans to resign amid a sweeping overhaul of the planemaker’s management as it fights to repair its reputation following a terrifying cabin panel blowout.
Dave Calhoun will step down at the end of this year. Larry Kellner, chair of Boeing’s board of directors, will also leave the role.
Calhoun plans to “complete the critical work under way to stabilize and position the company for the future” over the coming months, it said.
Boeing has scrambled to reassure regulators, airlines and passengers since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing in January.
The dramatic incident during an Alaska Airlines flight – which prompted 171 Max 9 jets to be grounded for several weeks – has sparked the biggest safety crisis for Boeing since the crashes of two of its Max 8 jets, in 2018 and 2019, in which 346 people were killed.
Stan Deal, who leads Boeing’s commercial airplanes business, has also left the job with immediate effect. He has been replaced by Stephanie Pope, the group’s chief operating officer.
“The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company,” Calhoun said. “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.”
Steve Mollenkopf, who has been on Boeing’s board of directors since 2020, has been lined up to replace Kellner as its chair. Mollenkopf will lead the search for Calhoun’s replacement.
Those who last recruited a CEO for Boeing did not look far. Calhoun, who took the job in January 2020, was a veteran of the group’s board, and served as chairman for a few months the previous year.
“I want to thank Dave for his tremendous leadership of our company,” said Kellner, “and I know he will finish the job this year that he started in 2020 to position Boeing, and our employees, for a stronger future.”