Boeing president and CEO David Calhoun will step down from his positions at the end of 2024, he announced in a Monday letter to Boeing employees, amid a broader executive shakeup amid U.S. federal investigations into the company following the Jan. 5 door-plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9.
“I have been considering for some time, in discussion with our board of directors, the right time for a CEO transition at Boeing,” Calhoun wrote to employees. “I want to share with you that I have decided this will be my last year as CEO of our great company, and I have notified the board of that decision.”
Additionally, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal announced his retirement, effective immediately, and the company said Boeing COO Stephanie Pope would succeed him. Pope was named COO in January; previously, she served as president and CEO of Boeing Global Services.
Meanwhile, Boeing chair Larry Kellner announced he would not stand for reelection at Boeing’s annual shareholder meeting, and the company’s board has elected Steve Mollenkopf as its next chair. Mollenkopf has served on the board since 2020 and previously served as CEO of technology firm Qualcomm.
Calhoun was chairman of Boeing’s board when he took over as CEO in early 2020, replacing Dennis Muilenburg after federal authorities grounded the 737 Max after a pair of crashes. The 2024 door-plug incident, however, resulted in multiple federal investigations of Boeing that have resulted in criticism of the company’s quality-control processes, among other concerns.
“We are going to fix what isn’t working, and we are going to get our company back on the track towards recovery and stability,” Calhoun wrote in the letter.
Boeing in a statement said Calhoun would remain CEO through the end of the year to “complete the critical work underway to stabilize and position the company for the future.” The company did not designate a successor.
