Boeing sees leadership shakeup amid safety concerns

Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun announced Monday his intention to resign from company leadership. Calhoun will stay through the end of the year to “stabilize and position the company for the future,” according to a news release issued by the company. Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal also announced his retirement on Monday, tapping Boeing COO Stephanie Pope as his replacement. Additionally, Independent Board Chair Larry Kellner said he would not seek re-election at the board’s annual meeting in May. The board has elected board member Steve Mollenkopf as the new chair.

Does this have anything to do with recent questions on Boeing safety? Calhoun referenced the Alaska Airlines Flight that lost a door plug mid-flight in the first line of his letter to employees. Since the defective door plug, several Boeing flights have been grounded out of safety concerns, squeezing over $31 billion in company losses. “The eyes of the world are on us,” he wrote, “and I know that we will come through this moment a better company…with safety and quality at the forefront.” Mollenkopf also acknowledged recent safety concerns, insisting “We are committed to taking the right actions to strengthen safety and quality.” Calhoun’s announcement comes less than a week after several airline CEOs requested meetings with the company leaders to discuss quality control issues. However, the former CEO said during an interview on Monday that it was “100 percent” his decision to leave.

The leadership shift comes weeks after a longtime employee-turned-whistleblower John Barnett was found dead. Authorities report Barnett died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though the investigation is ongoing. The whistleblower filed a lawsuit accusing Boeing of unsafe practices and was formally deposed by company lawyers days before his death. The case was originally scheduled for trial in June.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Kyle Ziemnick’s report on Boeing’s response to previous issues with its 737 Max jets.