Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun steps down

Dave Calhoun announced today (March 25) he intends to step down as CEO of Boeing by the end of the year.

The company, which has been mired in ongoing safety problems with its airplanes, also announced its chairman, Larry Kellner, has decided not to stand for reelection as board director.

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf was elected to succeed him.

Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, announced his retirement as well. 

He has been replaced by Stephanie Pope, Boeing’s chief operating officer since January.

The shakeup of Boeing’s leadership comes on the heels of more than five years of safety issues with its airplanes, which, according to reporting by CNN, led to more than $31 billion in cumulative losses for the company.

In 2018 and 2019, two crashes of its 737 Max planes left 346 people dead.

This January, a door plug blew out of the side of an Alaska Airlines plane of the same model, leaving it with a hole in its side.

In a letter to Boeing employees also released by the company today, Calhoun said what happened to the Alaska Airlines plane was “a watershed moment for Boeing.”

“The eyes of the world are on us,” he said when announcing his plans to leave the company. “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.”

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