Boeing on Wednesday (Jul 31) named aerospace industry veteran Kelly Ortberg as its new President and CEO after a months-long search, tasking the former Rockwell Collins executive with the monumental job of turning around the struggling planemaker. #BoeingNewCEO
Ortberg, 64, will start on Aug. 8 and face a multitude of issues. Boeing new CEO must revive jet production and rebuild trust. Shares rose 2.9 percent before the bell.
Boeing, a leading planemaker, has faced a safety crisis after a panel blowout on a MAX 9 jet. The incident occurred on Jan 5. Boeing posted a $1.4 billion loss in the second quarter.
The accident led to CEO Dave Calhoun’s resignation and the previous board president’s departure. Regulators targeted Boeing’s shaken safety culture. Previous crashes in 2018 and 2019 had already impacted the company’s reputation.
Shortly after the accident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred Boeing from expanding production of its cash-cow 737 MAX family of jets without estimating how long the limitation will last.
The US aviation regulator capped production to 38 jets per month, though Reuters has reported that Boeing has been producing jets during some weeks at a much lower level.
The regulator on Feb 28 gave Boeing 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality-control issues”, which the company submitted in May. #BoeingNewCEO
However, the FAA’s administrator has said Boeing would not be immediately allowed to increase 737 MAX production.
