Dave Calhoun the Boeing CEO has made a statements saying he will step down at the end of 2024 in part of a broad management shake-up for the company after the scandal regarding their 737 max aircraft.
Larry Kellner, chairman of the board, will not stand for reelection at Boeing’s annual meeting in May as Boeing said Monday 25-03-2024. He will be succeeded as chair by Steve Mollenkopf.
The departures come as airlines and regulators have been increasing calls for major changes at the company after a host of quality and manufacturing flaws on Boeing planes. Scrutiny intensified after a Jan. 5 accident, when a door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 minutes into an Alaska Airlines flight
“As you all know, the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a watershed moment for Boeing,” Calhoun wrote to employees on Monday. “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.
“The eyes of the world are on us, and I know we will come through this moment a better company, building on all the learnings we accumulated as we worked together to rebuild Boeing over the last number of years,” he wrote.
Calhoun told CNBC in an interview on Monday that the final decision to resign from CEO was “100%” his own.
“We have another mountain to climb,” Calhoun said. “Let’s not avoid the call for action. Let’s not avoid the changes that we have to make in our factory. Let’s not avoid the need to slow down a bit and let the supply chain catch up.”
Other CEO Statements
Ryanair, Boeing’s largest airline customers in Europe has said in a statement Monday that it welcomes the management changes.
“Stan Deal has done a great sales job for Boeing for many years, but he’s not the person to turn around the operation in Seattle, and that’s where most of the problems have been in recent years,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in a video posted to social media platform X.
Last week, airline CEOs had started to schedule meetings with Boeing directors and board members to showcase their displeasure at the lack of manufacturing quality controls and lower-than-expected production speed of 737 Max planes. The meetings were to include Kellner and one or more other board members.
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