Boeing Taps Kelly Ortberg as New Trailblazing President and CEO
DUBAI, July 31, 2024 — Boeing has today revealed that its Board of Directors has appointed Robert K. “Kelly” Ortberg as the company’s new president and chief executive officer, effective August 8, 2024. Ortberg will also join Boeing’s Board of Directors.
He will take over from Dave Calhoun, who announced earlier this year his plan to retire from the company after serving as president and CEO since January 2020, and as a Board member since 2009.
“The Board engaged in a comprehensive and detailed search process over the past several months to identify the next CEO of Boeing, and Kelly possesses the right capabilities and expertise to guide Boeing into its forthcoming chapter,” stated Steven Mollenkopf, Chair of the Board. “Kelly is a seasoned leader who is widely respected within the aerospace sector, boasting a well-deserved reputation for developing robust teams and operating complex engineering and manufacturing enterprises. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with him as he navigates Boeing through this pivotal era in its extensive history.”
“The Board also wishes to express gratitude to Dave Calhoun for his exceptional leadership at Boeing, initially as Chair and subsequently as CEO, as he guided the company through the recent challenges,” added Mollenkopf.
“I am incredibly honored and privileged to become part of this legendary company,” remarked Ortberg. “Boeing has an extraordinary and rich legacy as a trailblazer in our field, and I am devoted to collaborating with the over 170,000 committed employees of the organization to sustain that legacy, prioritizing safety and quality. There is much to accomplish, and I am eager to commence this journey.”
Ortberg, 64, brings more than 35 years of leadership experience in aerospace to this role. He initiated his career in 1983 as an engineer at Texas Instruments and subsequently joined Rockwell Collins in 1987 as a program manager, ascending through progressively impactful leadership roles at the company before becoming its president and CEO in 2013. After five years at the helm of Rockwell Collins, he guided the company’s merger with United Technologies and RTX until his retirement from RTX in 2021. He has held several significant leadership roles within the industry, including positions on the Board of Directors at RTX. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Aptiv PLC, a global technology enterprise and a leader in vehicle systems architecture. He is the former Chair of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Board of Governors.
Ortberg earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.
