In a move that stunned exactly nobody yet somehow still felt like a thunderclap wrapped in a press release, Boeing announced that CEO Dave Calhoun will be stepping down at the end of 2024, joining the elite club of CEOs who decided to “spend more time with their families” during a public relations maelstrom.
This particular maelstrom revolves around the now infamous January incident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 flight where a panel in the fuselage decided it had had enough and made an unscheduled exit at 16,000 feet, an altitude not generally recommended for dismantling aircraft by hand. Thankfully, gravity and luck performed admirably in place of good engineering and no one was seriously injured. The same cannot be said for Boeing’s reputation, which has taken on more holes than some of its planes.
Calhoun, who took charge in 2020 with the unenviable task of steering Boeing through the aftermath of the 737 Max tragedies, is now the third major executive to pack their parachute. Stan Deal, the CEO of the commercial airplanes division, is also out, as is Chairman Larry Kellner, marking what corporate spin doctors like to call a “leadership transition” and everyone else calls “abandon ship.”
In a statement that read like a carefully worded goodbye letter and less like an admission of defeat, Calhoun said he was proud of the progress Boeing had made but admitted the Alaska Airlines incident was a turning point. Whether that point is turning up or down remains, as usual, dependent on altitude and airspeed.
Incoming board chair Steve Mollenkopf, a former Qualcomm CEO, will now begin the process of selecting a new CEO, presumably someone with a strong background in not letting holes appear in airplanes mid-flight. In the meantime, Boeing’s stock, ever the drama queen, reacted with a brief spasm of optimism before returning to its usual brooding state.
“We’ve been working diligently to instill a culture of safety and quality at Boeing,” Calhoun said, possibly shouting over the sound of another emergency landing.
As Boeing prepares to hunt for new leadership and perhaps also a few missing bolts, shareholders and passengers alike are left wondering if the company can finally put turbulence behind it or if the only thing taking off this year will be more executive resignations.
Turns out, even captains occasionally look for the nearest exit row.