Boeing announced July 31 that its board of directors has elected Robert K. “Kelly” Ortberg, former CEO of Rockwell Collins, as the company’s new president and CEO.
The move is effective Aug. 8.
Mr. Ortberg will also serve on Boeing’s board of directors. He will succeed Dave Calhoun, who announced earlier this year his intention to retire from the company. Mr. Calhoun had served as Boeing president and CEO since January 2020, and as a member of Boeing’s board of directors since 2009.
“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,” Boeing board chair Steven Mollenkopf said in a release. “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. We look forward to working with him as he leads Boeing through this consequential period in its long history.
“The board would also like to thank Dave Calhoun for his strong leadership at Boeing, first as Chair and then as CEO, when he stepped in to steer the company through the challenges of recent years,” Mr. Mollenkopf added.
“I’m extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company,” Mr. Ortberg said. “Boeing has a tremendous and rich history as a leader and pioneer in our industry, and I’m committed to working together with the more than 170,000 dedicated employees of the company to continue that tradition, with safety and quality at the forefront.”
Mr. Ortberg, 64, brings over 35 years of aerospace leadership to his new position. He began his career in 1983 as an engineer at Texas Instruments, and then joined Rockwell Collins in 1987 as a program manager. He held increasingly important leadership positions at the company prior to becoming its president and CEO in 2013.
After five years leading Rockwell Collins, he steered the company’s integration with United Technologies and RTX until his retirement from RTX in 2021. He has held a number of important leadership posts in the aerospace industry, including serving on the board of directors of RTX.
He also serves on the board of directors of Aptiv PLC, a global technology company and an industry leader in vehicle systems architecture, and is the former chair of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) board of governors.
Mr. Ortberg holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.
Yahoo Finance reports that Mr. Ortberg faces a multitude of issues in his new post with Boeing, including reviving jet production and rebuilding trust with regulators, the industry and the public.
One of the two global planemakers, Boeing has dealt with significant financial challenges, due in part to a reputational and safety crisis spurred by a Jan. 5 mid-air cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines-operated MAX 9 jet carrying 171 passengers.
The company posted a loss of $1.4 billion in the second quarter.
