Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down at the end of 2024 amid scrutiny over safety procedures

Boeing’s top executive leader announced he will step down at the end of 2024 as the company faces scrutiny over its safety procedures.

Dave Calhoun, president and chief executive officer of Boeing, has been leading the company since January of 2020.

He was hired when the company had been facing the fallout from two fatal plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed more than 340 people.

And most recently, a door plug that blew out on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max, which left a hole on the side of the plane midflight.

“He will continue to lead Boeing through the year to complete the critical work underway to stabilize and position the company for the future,” the company’s website said.

Boeing’s website shared a statement from Calhoun.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve Boeing,” said Calhoun in a letter to employees. “The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company. 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.”

KIRO 7 News reached out to Boeing to request an interview with Calhoun. A spokesperson declined our request.

We also asked for more details, including if the company will search internally and/or externally for their next candidate, the company’s timeline, and the specific qualifications Boeing is searching for in their next top executive.

We did not get any answers.

The next candidate will mark Boeing’s 13th chief executive officer since 1916.

OTHER LEADERSHIP CHANGES:

Board Chair Larry Kellner also announced that he will not stand for re-election at the upcoming Annual Shareholder meeting, the company said.

He has served on Boeing’s board for 13 years and as the board’s chair since late 2019.

“Boeing plays an essential role in our world, and serving this company, and our people, has been a true honor,” Kellner said in a statement on the company’s website. “After over a decade on the board and several years as its chair, I have been considering the right time for a transition of leadership on our board, and have been discussing that subject with Dave and the board in conjunction with Dave’s own planning about his succession timeframe. I want to thank Dave for his tremendous leadership of our company, and I know he will finish the job this year that he started in 2020 to position Boeing, and our employees, for a stronger future. With Dave’s decision to step down as CEO at the end of this year, now is the right time for a transition to my successor. Steve is the ideal next leader to take on the role of board chair, and it is important that the CEO selection process be led by a new chair who will stay at the helm as a partner to the new CEO. With a strong board, an excellent management team and 170,000 dedicated Boeing employees, I am fully confident in our company’s future.”

The board has elected Steve Mollenkopf to replace Kellner as independent board Chair. He will lead the board’s process of selecting the company’s next CEO, the company added.

“I am honored and humbled to step into this new role,” Mollenkopf said in a statement on the company’s website. “I am fully confident in this company and its leadership – and together we are committed to taking the right actions to strengthen safety and quality, and to meet the needs of our customers. I also want to thank both Larry and Dave for their exceptional stewardship of Boeing during a challenging and consequential time for Boeing and the aerospace industry.”

Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will also retire from Boeing, the company said. Stephanie Pope, the company’s chief operating officer, who was hired for the role in January of 2024, has been appointed to lead BCA, effective Monday.

WORKERS:

KIRO 7 News spoke with several workers near the Renton Boeing Plant Monday.

A number of workers said they did not want to be identified due to fear of retaliation from the company.

One man said he is planning to retire soon in large part because of the company’s current culture and lack of leadership.

He was not surprised by Calhoun’s announcement, he shared.

“Just no leadership anymore,” he said. “Just kind of expected it sooner, but I think everyone is looking and saying, well because leadership isn’t here anymore.”

KIRO 7 News asked him about the company’s culture over the recent years.

“It’s kind of a change, but not for the good,” he responded. “The whole culture changed.”

“The company is not like it used to be. It doesn’t care about the workers anymore,” he added. “Years ago, it used to be all about safety. Now I think it’s been forgotten about.”

He said people are “Just doing whatever it takes to get by.”

However, a couple of other workers told KIRO 7 News off camera that they do not feel the pressure or heat from management as their team chemistry is healthy.

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS (IAM) DISTRICT 751:

KIRO 7 News reached out to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751 to request an interview with President Jon Holden, who has been fighting for an increase in workers’ pay.

Full contract negotiations are currently underway for the machinists union for the first time in 16 years.

A spokesperson declined our interview request, but shared the following statement:

“”We are looking to see a leader who will prioritize the importance of the quality and safety of the production system and a leader with a strong vision for the future that includes the IAM, our communities, and the foundation of the manufacturing process. Our livelihoods are at stake, and that’s precisely why we are seeking a seat on the board. We firmly believe our voice and the voice of the engineers must be heard at the highest level of the company’s decision-making process. The safety of aircraft manufacturing isn’t negotiable and must be safeguarded above all else. We are committed to instilling a culture where the safety of aircraft production is an absolute imperative over anything else,” Jon Holden, IAM District 751 President and Directing Business Representative, wrote.

AVIATION EXPERT:

KIRO 7 News also spoke with Scott Hamilton, who has been working within the aviation field for decades, about the shakeup at Boeing.

“It was expected. It was a matter of when, not if. And the same goes for departure of Stan Deal, the CEO of Commercial Airplanes, which is of course, the big assembly plant in Renton,” he said. “David Calhoun takes over in January of 2020. He makes a lot of announcements how Boeing is going to improve its safety culture, and here we are four years later, and the problems have not improved.”

While the company’s top executive role is expected see changes, Hamilton said the board must also do its part if the company truly wants to address concerns around safety.

“I do think that there’s more change needed,” he shared. “If Boeing really believes safety is the number one priority, let’s take some of that $62 billion in stockholder buybacks that has been spent since the McDonnell Douglas merger since 1997, and dedicate that to safety being the number one priority, and Boeing has not done that.”

“Unfortunately for Boeing, and airlines and others, we have heard the phrase, ‘safety is our number one priority’ so much that it has lost its meaning. It’s time to put meaning back into that cliché,” he added.

We shared Holden’s statement with Hamilton to get his thoughts on his remarks.

“I fully concur with the statement of the IAM. I fully support they get representation on the board,” he said. “Still to this day, they don’t have someone from the Puget Sound area, which represents Boeing’s largest commercial business unit on the board of directors.”

“I just find that very bizarre,” he said.