Boeing’s CEO search hits some turbulence
Several high-profile candidates have turned down the chance to run Boeing, complicating the jet maker’s search for a new leader amid discussions about whether the next CEO needs to be based near its Seattle-area factories. Boeing CEO David Calhoun said in March he would step down by the end of the year. GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp, widely considered a natural for the job, declined Boeing’s request to consider taking over, said people familiar with the discussions.
Other potential candidates—Boeing’s operating chief Stephanie Pope and Spirit AeroSystems boss Pat Shanahan—face complications on their path to the top job, while one of the company’s own directors, aerospace veteran David Gitlin, also declined an approach. Calhoun heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to testify before a Senate panel in a face-off that promises to underscore the thorny nature of the job Boeing is trying to fill. He is expected to be questioned on everything from mounting whistleblower allegations to the chain of events that led to January’s near catastrophe in which a piece of fuselage blew off a Boeing 737 while in flight.
Calhoun’s successor will have to deal with those issues, while rooting out ingrained quality problems that have led to massive production delays and drawn the ire of airline customers, federal regulators and investors. Some of the discussions have included whether the next leader should be based near Boeing’s manufacturing plants in the Seattle area that make 737s and other jets, some of the people said. Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2001, and in 2022, the company announced plans to move the main offices to Arlington, Va.
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