Calhoun to Step Down from Boeing at End of 2024
Joe Cortez March 25, 2024
The Chicago-based aerospace giant announced Calhoun would leave the company at the end of 2024.
Calhoun Ends Five-Year Run Under Dark Cloud of 737 MAX
According to his official biography provided by Boeing, Calhoun first joined the company as a board member in 2009. His prior experience includes a 26-year career at GE, followed by short stints at Nielsen Holdings and Blackstone.
Calhoun’s five-year run at Boeing was marked with numerous difficulties. One year after the accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Calhoun questioned the abilities of the pilots to The New York Times, claiming they did not have the same experience as U.S.-based aviators. At the end of 2023, he missed a performance-based payment after the 777X did not come into service.
In an open letter to Boeing employees, Calhoun acknowledged the significance of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in his decision, calling it “a watershed moment for Boeing.” After speaking to the board about a chief executive transition, Calhoun announced he would leave the company by the end of 2024.
“I originally agreed to take on the role of CEO of Boeing at the board’s request, stepping down as board chair in the process, because of the unprecedented circumstances the company was facing at that time,” Calhoun wrote in the letter. “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve in both roles and I will only feel the journey has been properly completed when we finish the job that we need to do. 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.”
Calhoun will not be the only executive leaving the company by the end of the year. Longtime board chair Larry Kellner will vacate his post at the next annual shareholder meeting. Succeeding him is Steve Mollenkopf, the former CEO of Qualcomm who will be tasked with leading the search for a new leader for Boeing.
More immediately, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal has “retired” from his position effective immediately. He will be replaced by Stephanie Pope, who was promoted to the chief operating officer role at Boeing in January 2024.
Feature image courtesy; Boeing
Paper moves or something bigger--time will give us the answer.Ironic that my most recent flights were all on Airbus?
He's being forced out about five years too late.
About ff...ing time
"His prior experience includes a 26-year career at GE.."
Management sense honed at the home of notorious "Chainsaw" Jack Welch? Now Calhoun's actions make even more sense. An anti-labor, money über alles approach, shocking it led so quickly to multiple aircraft falling out of the sky. The poor guy has to remain in place for another 3/4 of a year before they allow him to jump with his golden parachute earned from a management approach creating hundreds of corpses. Comparing his fate to the "suicided" guy who tried in vain to save Boeing is deeply troubling.