The departure from Boeing of former chief executive Dennis Muilenburg could bring the company one step closer to getting the 737 Max back in the sky, analysts say. But Muilenburg’s resignation, announced 23 December, caught some observers off guard and spurred speculation that more leadership shifts may be in the works. “The investor opinion of Mr Muilenburg had remained generally positive. However, we believe [Boeing] can now start to address some of the longer-term issues around its product portfolio and programme development efforts, and its communication around the Max should start to improve,” says a 23 December research note from financial services company Canaccord Genuity. Muilenburg will be succeeded by board chair David Calhoun, who will take the CEO role on 13 January. Chief financial officer Greg Smith will be Boeing’s top executive during the interim. Calhoun, now senior managing director at private equity company Blackstone Group, will step away from his “non-Boeing commitments” before becoming CEO, Boeing says. Canaccord calls Calhoun “well respected from his experience in the aerospace industry and specifically his history with GE. “We view his industry knowledge and credibility as a positive”. Also on 23 December, Boeing announced it had hired communications veteran Niel Golightly as senior vice-president of communications. Golightly, who most recently worked at Fiat Chrysler, succeeds Anne Toulouse. Boeing already had announced that Toulouse intends to retire in 2020. Analysts anticipate Calhoun’s tenure as CEO will be temporary. Michel Merluzeau, an aerospace consultant with AIR, suspects Calhoun will be a “placeholder”, overseeing the company until the Max returns to service. At that point, he thinks Boeing’s board will hire a someone fresh – and without links to the Max. “New team, new Boeing,” Merluzeau says. Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia says Calhoun will “be good for short-term stability”. But Calhoun’s experience working for Blackstone and General Electric may not be an ideal fit for an engineering company like Boeing, Aboulafia says. The leadership shift was not unexpected, but the timing was. “We are surprised by the timing, as we expected Boeing to maintain its current leadership structure until the Max had successfully returned to service,” says Canaccord. “However, the move points to the depth of communication issues and credibility Boeing currently has with regulators, customers, and politicians.” Muilenburg was roundly criticised in recent months for not adequately claiming Boeing’s role in two 737 Max crashes, and for giving overly rosy projections of when regulators will clear the Max to fly. It was Calhoun himself who led observers to suspect Muilenburg’s departure was not imminent. In October, Calhoun praised Muilenburg’s handling of the crisis. “He has our full confidence,” Calhoun said at the time. Boeing’s stock price bumped up about 3% on 23 December following news of Muilenburg’s exit. The stock’s movement likely reflects “the view that Boeing is now one step closer to” receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, says Canaccord. The CEO shift follows the October departure of former Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Kevin McAllister, who was succeeded by Stan Deal, formerly chief of Boeing Global Services.

Tim Clark, president of Emirates, will stand down from his role in June 2020, the airline says. He is expected to stay on in an advisory capacity during the transition to new leadership. Clark was part of the team that founded Emirates in 1985 and was appointed president in 2003. Under his leadership it became one of the largest airlines in the world with an in-service fleet of 270 aircraft serving 143 destinations, Cirium's fleet data shows. Speaking to FlightGlobal earlier this year, Clark pointed out that identifying his successor was out of his hands, noting that: "The time comes for all us, and when the time is right, I’ll move on. "I will go home and read aviation publications. The kind of constant three-dimensional chess that goes on [in the airline industry] is good fun. But not without its difficulties and its pressures," he added. No indication was given of a potential successor, although several Emiratis have recently been appointed into senior executive positions at the airline, such as Adel Al Redha as chief operating officer and Adnan Kazim as chief commercial officer, raising the prospect that the next president could be a local. "Personally, if you can get a Dubai national to sit in my job that would be a good thing, because they will have earned it," Clark told FlightGlobal. "And it sends a clear message because the government wants to accelerate the ‘Emirates-isation’ of the workforce."

Source: Cirium

Boeing has named board chair David Calhoun its next chief executive in succession to Dennis Muilenburg, who has resigned from the company. Muilenburg has left his chief executive and board posts effectively immediately, though Calhoun will not take the struggling company’s reins as CEO until 13 January 2020, Boeing says in a 23 December media release. Boeing chief financial officer Greg Smith will serve as interim chief executive until Calhoun takes over, Boeing says. “I strongly believe in the future of Boeing and the 737 Max,” Calhoun says. “I am honoured to lead this great company and the 150,000 dedicated employees who are working hard to create the future of aviation.” Calhoun has been a Boeing board member since 2009 and is senior managing director at private equity company Blackstone Group. Previously, he worked for 28 years at General Electric, running that company’s transportation, aircraft engines, reinsurance and lighting business units, Boeing says. Calhoun was also board chair and chief executive of data and marketing company Nielsen Holdings. “Not at all a big shock,” Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia says of the leadership shift. “Muilenburg wasn’t exactly inspiring confidence, and the production line shutdown wasn’t handled very well at all. Calhoun is well-respected and should provide short-term stability, although given his private equity background he might be the wrong person as the long-term manager of an engineering company.” News of Muilenburg’s departure comes seven weeks after Calhoun defended embattled Muilenburg, calling the former chief “an asset” who “didn’t create” the 737 Max problem. But in the weeks since, Boeing’s situation seemingly became more critical, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s chief Steven Dickson criticising Boeing’s 737 Max certification timeline as unrealistically optimistic. One week ago Boeing announced it will temporarily halt 737 production in January, and major Max customer United Airlines delayed to June its expected return of 737 Max flights. Boeing says the leadership change will “bring renewed commitment to transparency and better communications with regulations and customers in safely returning the 737 Max to service”. “The board of directors decided that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the company moving forward as it works to repair relationships with regulators, customers and all other stakeholders,” Boeing’s release says. “Under the company’s new leadership, Boeing will operate with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communication with the FAA, other global regulators and its customers.” Board member Lawrence Kellner, former Continental Airlines chief executive, will succeed Calhoun as head of Boeing’s board, taking the title of non-executive chair. Kellner says Calhoun has “deep industry experience and a proven track record of strong leadership, and he recognises the challenges we must confront”.

Source: Cirium