Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun will step down at the end of the year, AP reported on Monday. He had taken over as the aircraft giant’s CEO following his predecessor Dennis Muilenburg’s ousted following twin crashes in late 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
In a letter to his employees, Calhoun had written,“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 acknowledged that Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was a “watershed” moment for Boeing. “We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency. We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company,” AP quoted him as saying.
Beoing has come under intense scrutiny over its manufacturing process since the two crashes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently ordered an audit of assembly lines at a Boeing factory near Seattle, where the company builds planes like the Alaska Airlines 737 Max that suffered a door-panel blowout on January 5.
According to the investigators, the bolts that help keep the panel in place were missing after repair work at the Boeing factory. Board Chair Larry Kellner has also told the company he doesn’t plan to stand for re-election.
The company added that Stan Deal, president and CEO of its commercial airplanes unit, will retire from the company. Stephanie Pope will now lead the division.
The board has elected Steve Mollenkopf to succeed Kellner as independent board chair. In this role, Mollenkopf will lead the board’s process of choosing Boeing’s next CEO.
