Chairman of the board of directors, Larry Kellner, has informed the board that he does not intend to run for re-election at the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The board elected Steve Mollenkopf independent chairman of the board to succeed Kellner. In this role, Mollenkopf will lead the board's process to select Boeing's next CEO.
In addition to these changes, Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), will retire from the company, while Stephanie Pope has been named to lead BCA, effective today.
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve Boeing," Calhoun said in a letter to employees. "The eyes of the world are on us and I know we will emerge from this moment a better company. We will remain focused on completing the work we have done together to return stability to our company after the extraordinary challenges of the last five years, with safety and quality first in everything we do.
Kellner has been a member of Boeing's board of directors for 13 years and has been its chairman since late 2019. In this role, he oversaw the establishment of a new board aerospace safety committee, and during his tenure, he led the hiring of seven new independent directors, bringing deep engineering, safety, manufacturing and aerospace experience to Boeing's board of directors.
"Boeing plays an essential role in our world, and serving this company and our people has been a true honor," said Kellner. "After more than a decade on the board and several years as president, I have been considering the appropriate timing for a leadership transition and have discussed that issue with Dave and the board in conjunction with Dave's own planning for his succession timeline. I want to thank Dave for his tremendous leadership of our company, and know that this year he will finish the work he started in 2020 to position Boeing and our employees for a stronger future. With Dave's decision to step down as CEO at the end of This year, now is the right time for a transition to my successor. Steve is the ideal next leader to take on the role of Chairman of the Board, and it is important that the CEO selection process be led by a new Chairman who remains at the helm as a partner to the new CEO. With a strong board of directors, an excellent management team and 170,000 dedicated Boeing employees, I have complete confidence in the future of our company."
Mollenkopf has been a member of the board of directors since 2020. Previously he was CEO of Qualcomm. He has a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering.
“I am honored to take on this new role,” said Mollenkopf. "I have confidence in this company and its leadership, and together we are committed to taking appropriate measures to strengthen safety and quality, and to meet the needs of our customers. I also want to thank Larry and Dave for their exceptional management during a time challenging and momentous for Boeing and the aerospace industry.”
Pope has served as Boeing's chief operating officer since January of this year. Previously, she was president and CEO of Boeing Global Services, where she was responsible for leading the company's aerospace services to commercial, government and aviation industry customers around the world. She was chief financial officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and held positions in all Boeing business units. She immediately begins her role as president and CEO of Commercial Airplanes.