Troubled Boeing Will Now Be in This Man's Hands

Kelly Ortberg to replace Dave Calhoun as CEO
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 31, 2024 11:10 AM CDT
Troubled Boeing Will Now Be in This Man's Hands
A Boeing 777X airplane is shown at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France, on June 19, 2023.   (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

Robert "Kelly" Ortberg was named Boeing's next CEO on Wednesday, the same day the company reported a loss that makes clear the task the 64-year-old will have ahead of him. The AP reports the company recorded a $1.44 billion loss in Q2, a number that outpaced Wall Street expectations. A year earlier, its loss for the quarter was $149 million. More:

  • Aerospace industry chops: The AP calls Ortberg a veteran of the space. He served as CEO of Boeing supplier Rockwell Collins from 2013 to 2018, when it merged with another aerospace company and ended up becoming part of RTX. The Wall Street Journal reports he was an adviser to RTX's CEO before retiring in 2021. He'll take over for Dave Calhoun, who's retiring at year's end, on Aug. 8.

  • One take: CNBC writes that "the appointment of the more-than-three-decade aerospace veteran shows Boeing is seeking a steady hand that knows the industry—but also a company outsider."
  • Another take: CNBC cites Bank of America aerospace analyst Ron Epstein as saying, "One person cannot turn around a company, but Kelly should be able to cast a wider net for talent than a Boeing insider could. Also, we note that Rockwell Collins fostered a strong culture, something that we think Boeing is in dire need of now."
  • Interesting sidenote: The Journal notes it hasn't been all champagne and roses between Boeing and Ortberg over the years. "He has a long and sometimes tense history with his new employer. When he ran Rockwell, Boeing moved to insource work on aircraft electronics that was one of Rockwell's biggest businesses, and Boeing actively lobbied against Ortberg's sale of the company to United Technologies."
(More Boeing stories.)

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