After years of operations marred in controversy, Boeing Co BA announced the hire of a new chief executive on Wednesday, replacing the outgoing Dave Calhoun.
What Happened: Boeing has faced years of widespread criticism following two crashes of its 737 Max and the fleet’s subsequent grounding. The cacophony of criticism multiplied following safety incidents in 2024, a lawsuit against the company by the U.S. Department of Justice and the deaths of two former employees labeled whistleblowers.
Shares of Boeing are trading down over 20% in the past year and over 40% in the last five years.
Calhoun, the CEO of Boeing since 2020, announced in March that he would leave the company by year’s end.
Boeing’s pursuit of its new CEO reportedly focused its search of candidates both inside and outside of the company before landing on Robert K. “Kelly” Ortberg, the former CEO of Rockwell Collins (now a subsidiary of RTX Corp.)
Who Is Kelly Ortberg?: A Dubuque native, Ortberg graduated from the University of Iowa in 1982 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
According to business think-tank The Conference Board, Ortberg began his career as a program manager at Rockwell Collins. He ascended within the company to become the chief operating officer of the company’s Government Systems business and chief operating officer of its Commercial Systems business.
He then became chairman, president and CEO of Rockwell Collins. United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins in 2018. Ortberg became CEO of the newly minted Collins Aerospace from 2018 to 2020. He retired in 2021.
Ortberg led Rockwell Collins through two large acquisitions: the purchase of ARINC in 2013 and B/E Aerospace in 2017.
Steven Mollenkopg, chair of Boeing’s board, elaborated on the hiring process that landed on Ortberg.
“The Board conducted a thorough and extensive search process over the last several months to select the next CEO of Boeing and Kelly has the right skills and experience to lead Boeing in its next chapter,” Mollenkopf said. “Kelly is an experienced leader who is deeply respected in the aerospace industry, with a well-earned reputation for building strong teams and running complex engineering and manufacturing companies.”
“I’m extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company,” Ortberg said in a prepared statement. “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.”
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