Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by the end of the year amidst a management shakeup prompted by a safety crisis triggered by a mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX plane, Reuters reports.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal will retire, with Stephanie Pope taking over. Meanwhile, Steve Mollenkopf is appointed as the new chair of the board. The leadership changes follow weeks of turmoil after the incident involving an Alaska Airlines-operated MAX 9 jet as Boeing grapples with safety and quality issues. The company is in talks to acquire its former subsidiary Spirit AeroSystems to gain more control over its supply chain.
Boeing’s crisis has frustrated airlines and its main rival Airbus has recently secured orders for 65 jets from two of Boeing’s key Asian customers. Boeing shares rose 2.8% in premarket trading on the news.
