Boeing taps Kelly Ortberg as CEO following safety crises, including midair blowout fiasco

Boeing announced Wednesday it has tapped Robert “Kelly” Ortberg to replace outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun following a months-long search as the plane manufacturer struggles to bounce back from several safety crises — including the midair blowout of a door panel.

Ortberg, a longtime aerospace industry veteran, faces a multitude of issues, including reviving jet production and rebuilding trust with regulators, the industry and the public. He will start on Aug. 8.

The 64-year-old Ortberg previously led aviation company Rockwell Collins — which became Collins Aerospace in 2018 and is now a part of RTX.

He retired from RTX in 2021.

Ortberg will take the reins and join the company board as Boeing faces a host of reputation and monetary challenges, which escalated early this year after a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing plane in midair.

At the time, Boeing was already taking heat over two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes.

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The company announced in March that Calhoun would leave his position by the end of the year.

The company said it was also replacing its then-chairman and its head of commercial aircraft.

Now, Ortberg is tasked with boosting the planemaker’s image and turning around earnings.

“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,” chairman Steven Mollenkopf said in a note to employees on Wednesday.

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“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,” Mollenkopf said.

Boeing’s new CEO announcement comes alongside its disappointing second-quarter earnings, which saw bigger losses and weaker revenue than expected.

The aircraft manufacturer reported a loss of $2.90 per share adjusted — nearly $1 below expectations that it would lose $1.97 per share adjusted, according to LSEG analysts.

Revenue tumbled 15% to $16.87 billion, below expectations of $17.23 billion, according to LSEG analysts.

Meanwhile, Boeing is facing heightened regulatory scrutiny after its door plug scandal and fatal plane crashes.

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Senators grilled Calhoun in June , questioning why he hadn’t immediately resigned.

Calhoun acknowledged the door plug scandal was the result of a manufacturing defect.

Boeing also took responsibility for the development of key software linked to the 2018 and 2019 fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed a combined 346 people.

Most recently, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a $243.6 million fine after it breached a 2021 prosecution agreement connected to the fatal crashes, according to a court filing.

Customers are also turning against the manufacturer, concerned with plane safety and frustrated with long flight delays at airports nationwide.

Boeing is not safe from internal struggles, either, as its largest union threatened to strike if contract negotiations don’t end up in union members’ favor.

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