Boeing Names Kelly Ortberg as New President and CEO

Boeing named Kelly Ortberg, the former CEO of aerospace company Rockwell Collins, as its new president and CEO. He will succeed Dave Calhoun from August 8.

Ortberg started his career in the early 1980s as an engineer at technology firm Texas Instruments. In 1987 he joined Rockwell Collins as a program manager and steadily rose up the corporate ranks. He was appointed its president and CEO in 2013.

After five years at the top of Rockwell Collins, he navigated the business through its integration with United Technologies and RTX. He retired from the firm in 2021.

Steven Mollenkopf, Chair of the Board at Boeing said: "Kelly is an experienced leader who is deeply respected in the aerospace industry, with a well-earned reputation for building strong teams and running complex engineering and manufacturing companies. We look forward to working with him as he leads Boeing through this consequential period in its long history."

Just days ago, The Air Current first reported that multiple industry officials believed that Ortberg was a serious contender for top spot. Ortberg, along with Spirit Aerosystems CEO Pat Shanahan and Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope were considered to be the final contenders for CEO, according to the report.

Ortberg, 64, is only a few years younger than Calhoun, who is 67. Boeing extended its mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 in 2021 to allow Calhoun to stay on as the chief executive at the time. The plane maker said Ortberg won't be subjected to retirement policy until April 1, 2031.

Calhoun's Successor Confirmed

In March, Calhoun said he would step down from the company, having served as president and CEO since January 2020 and as a member of its Board of Directors since 2009.

Calhoun was appointed Boeing’s CEO as the plane maker was reeling from the fallout of two fatal crashes with the 737 Max 8. His core mission was to steady the ship and rebuild confidence in the brand.

However, Calhoun's tenure was not without controversy. His retirement from Boeing formed part of a wider series of senior personnel changes following an incident onboard an Alaska Airlines plane on January 5, when a door plug blew off mid-flight. The accident brought renewed scrutiny to the plane maker and its processes.

Since then, the company has implemented a variety of changes, including increased inspections and slowing down the production of the 737 Max. Earlier this month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony charge related to the Max 8 that would have the company install an independent compliance monitor.

Calhoun's predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg, was ousted due to the the numerous issues with the 737 Max rollout. During that time, Boeing drew the ire of lawmakers after an employee testified to Congress that the plane maker had ignored safety concerns when building the 737 Max.

Calhoun will serve as a special advisor to the Board of Directors until March 2025.

The news came as Boeing reported its second-quarter results, in which its revenues were down 15% and had a wider-than-expected operating loss of $1.4 billion.

During a call with analysts on Wednesday, Calhoun said Ortberg was "quite informed" of the issues at Boeing and recent leadership changes. He said that he didn't expect anymore management shakeups at the company.

"[Ortberg] knows full well that we're in a recovery mode," Calhoun said. "And he knows full well we got to complete the recovery mode, and we got to get this stable and move forward."