Boeing Names New CEO Amid Posting $1.4B in Losses

Facts

Boeing Wednesday named a new chief executive, looking to turn the page on a chapter mired in safety and regulatory issues that the company said led to losses of over $1.4B in the second quarter of 2024.^[1]
Robert 'Kelly' Ortberg, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at aerospace manufacturer Rockwell Collins, will replace David Calhoun as CEO and president effective Aug. 8.^[1]
Boeing chairman Steven Mollenkopf described Ortberg as 'an experienced leader who is deeply respected,' and said the firm looked forward to his leadership 'through this consequential period.'^[2]
Ortberg said he was 'extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company.' He added he was committed to working with the firm's 170K staff 'with safety and quality at the forefront' of that effort.^[3]
In addition to addressing Boeing's financial troubles — which include losses in its defense and space unit as well as its commercial aviation businesses — Ortberg will have to navigate Boeing's entering into a plea agreement with the Department of Justice over two plane crashes that killed 346 people.^[4]^[5]
He'll have to tackle the probes sparked by a door panel blowing off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight. There's also a potential workers' strike at Boeing's plant in Washington state in September.^[6]^[7]

Narrative A, as provided by Forbes. In this extremely difficult period, Boeing couldn't have done better than naming Ortberg as the next CEO. A mechanical engineer who built one of the aviation industry's most respected suppliers, his reputation is excellent and he has all the skills necessary to turn the company around.
Narrative B, as provided by CNN. While Ortberg has a good résumé, it's not clear that one man can turn all of Boeing's problems around. There are serious problems with the company — there's no guarantee that with a mere change at the top, the firm will be able to recover from all the mistakes it has made in the past few years.