Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced his resignation on Monday morning following months of investor and reputational turmoil over the “safety and quality” of the company’s airplanes.
He is scheduled to formally exit at the end of 2024. Stanley Deal, the head of the company’s commercial aircraft division, will resign immediately, and chairman Larry Kellner will not be standing for reelection. Former CEO of semiconductor company Qualcomm Steve Mollenkopf will succeed him as chair and begin the hunt for the next CEO. Deal will be replaced by COO Stephanie Pope.
The announcements were made in a company press statement, which featured a quote from Calhoun’s letter to employees. “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve Boeing. 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.”
Calhoun was appointed in January 2020. During his tenure, Boeing watched its share prices plummet during the COVID pandemic and never fully recover, even as the S&P 500 rebounded and skyrocketed.
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The Alaskan Airlines midair door-panel blowout on January 5th, along with the numerous 737 production issues the company has faced over the last few years (and two crashes five years ago, from which the company’s reputation is still recovering), are the presumed reasons for Calhoun’s departure.
Boeing has been under fire from investors and airliners ever since, and the mounting scrutiny seems to have finally led to a leadership shakeup. For example, CEO of Ryanair Michael O’Leary said he “welcomed these much-needed management changes,” as Boeing’s difficulties forced his company, along with many US airliners, to reduce the number of scheduled flights.
The problems have also left the generations, particularly Generation Z, increasingly afraid to fly on planes.
As Valuetainment previously reported, Boeing whistleblower and former employee John Barnett was found dead on March 9th, from what the Charleston County Coroner said was “what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” The uncanny timing of his death—just days before Barnett was scheduled to be cross-examined in his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) legal case against Boeing—led many to speculate that his death was a murder. Watch The Unusual Suspects’ new minidocumentary on the whistleblower below:
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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