Boeing just named its new CEO — an aerospace veteran with the tough task of getting the planemaker back on track
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- Industry veteran Kelly Ortberg will be the new CEO of Boeing.
- Airline bosses wanted someone with an engineering background, like Ortberg.
- He faces a tough task to get the planemaker back on track after the Alaska Airlines blowout.
Boeing announced that its new CEO will be Kelly Ortberg, the former boss of avionics firm Rockwell Collins.
"There is much work to be done, and I'm looking forward to getting started," Ortberg said in a press release.
He will replace Dave Calhoun effective next Thursday, August 8.
Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf told employees there had been a "thorough and extensive search process over the last several months."
Ortberg, 64, has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.
He began his career at Texas Instruments in 1983 and moved to Rockwell Collins four years later. He was president and CEO of the avionics firm for five years until it was acquired by RTX in 2018. Ortberg retired from RTX in 2021.
Airline bosses like Emirates' Tim Clark had called on Boeing to appoint someone with an engineering background, given the planemaker's well-documented quality-control problems in recent years.
When Calhoun, an accounting graduate, resigned, he said Boeing needed to prioritize safety over the speed of delivering planes.
However, his predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg, did have an engineering background. Muilenburg was fired in 2019 amid the previous 737 Max-related crisis.
Ortberg will also have to contend with supply-chain problems and achieving certification for new planes like the 777X and 737 Max 10.
Wednesday's CEO announcement came at the same time as Boeing's quarterly earnings. The planemaker reported a net loss of $1.44 billion — worse than analyst's expectations.
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Calhoun announced his resignation in March, two months after the Alaska Airlines blowout. When a door plug came off a 737 Max in midair, the fact that the plane was delivered just 66 days earlier suggested Boeing was to blame.
In its preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board said the jet left Boeing's factory missing key bolts designed to secure the door plug.
The incident prompted the Justice Department to revisit a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Boeing pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy this month.
It also faces another DoJ investigation and lawsuits related to the Alaska Airlines incident.
"Boeing has a tremendous and rich history as a leader and pioneer in our industry, and I'm committed to working together with the more than 170,000 dedicated employees of the company to continue that tradition, with safety and quality at the forefront," Ortberg said.