• by Tanya Gazdik , March 25, 2024

The troubles at Boeing are taking their toll on the executive suite. 

“The company’s chief executive, Dave Calhoun, said he would leave at the end of the year. Stan Deal, Boeing’s head of commercial planes, departed immediately,” according toThe New York Times. “The aircraft maker has been under mounting pressure from regulators, airlines and passengers as the company struggled to respond to the fallout from an incident in early January in which a panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane midair during an Alaska Airlines flight.”

The decision to leave was “100%” his choice, Calhoun said in an interview on CNBC.

As to why Calhoun decided to stay on through the end of the year rather than leave immediately, he told CNBC: “We have another mountain to climb. Let’s not avoid what happened with Alaska Air. Let’s not avoid the call for action. Let’s not avoid the changes that we need to make in our factories.”

Boeing board chair Larry Kellner, on the company board for 13 years and chair since 2019, announced he won’t stand for reelection at Boeing’s annual meeting later this spring.

“Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf, who served on the board of directors since 2020, will replace Kellner, and lead the CEO search,” according toThe Seattle Times. “Late last week, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Calhoun when major U.S. airline leaders — Boeing’s top customers — signaled a loss of confidence in his leadership by asking to meet this week with Boeing’s board without him.”

Boeing already replaced the head of its 737 Max program at the company's Renton, Washington, facility, Ed Clark,  earlier this year. 

“Elizabeth Lund, senior vice president and general manager of Airplane Programs, was also appointed to a newly created role that will focus on quality control initiatives,” according to FOX Business Network. “In a Monday letter to employees, Calhoun said the Jan. 5 incident where a door plug blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 at 16,000 feet ‘was a watershed moment for Boeing.’”

"We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency,” Calhoun said. “We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company.”

The problems date back well before the recent Alaska Airlines incident. 

“Boeing has been buffeted by more than five years of problems with its airplanes, including two fatal crashes of the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people,” according to CNN.