Boeing's Next CEO? Meet The Four Potential Successors As Dave Calhoun Prepares To Pass The Torch Amid Airplane Maker's Security Concerns And Increased Scrutiny

In the race to fill the top spot at Boeing BA, four candidates have emerged as potential successors.

What Happened: Following the announcement in March that CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by year-end, experts have identified four potential successors. This decision came in the wake of the Alaska Airlines disaster in January, Business Insider reported on Monday.

Kelly Ortberg, former CEO of Rockwell Collins, has three decades of experience in the aerospace and space industry and is a strong contender for the CEO position at Boeing. Ortberg retired in 2021 as an advisor to the CEO of RTX, the company that now operates the former Rockwell Collins.

Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, is also on the shortlist. Pope, a third-generation Boeing employee, previously served as the company’s COO and has a finance background.

Pat Shanahan, CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, is another contender. Spirit AeroSystems, known for building the fuselage of the Alaska 737 Max that lost its door plug midair, is set to be bought back by Boeing in a $4.7 billion deal.

The final candidate is Steve Mollenkopf, the current Boeing board chair and former CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated.

The search for a new leader at Boeing has been fraught with challenges, with at least two individuals reportedly declining the role.

Boeing has yet to respond to Benzinga.

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Why It Matters: The search for a new CEO comes at a critical time for Boeing. The company has been under intense scrutiny following two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2019. The victims’ families have called for a $25 billion fine on Boeing, describing the incident as “the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history.”

Boeing’s leadership has also been criticized for its lack of engineering expertise. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, a direct rival to Boeing's space division, criticized Boeing’s CEO for not knowing how to design aircraft.

Despite these challenges, Boeing has recently resumed deliveries of its 737 MAX aircraft to China after a prolonged delay due to regulatory issues. This resumption could mark a turning point for the company.

Price Action: Boeing closed at $186.89 on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari