When Boeing Co. named Stephanie Pope its new chief operating officer in December, the move meant she would succeed Dave Calhoun, the company's chief executive, in the next few years. It was widely seen as a sign of what could become.
Four months later, the company, facing its second major crisis in five years, began a search for a new chief executive. And Ms. Pope appears to be just one of several candidates for one of the most prestigious and dangerous positions in corporate America: fixing Boeing.
The company announced late last month that Calhoun would step down at the end of the year, much earlier than expected. Boeing's chairman of the board immediately resigned from his post, as did the head of Boeing's troubled commercial aircraft business.
The management change comes after a panel on a 737 Max 9 plane blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident renews questions about the quality and safety of Boeing's aircraft, years after fatal crashes involving Boeing's 737 Max 8 planes in 2018 and 2019. .
Boeing indicated in 2021 that Calhoun, who took over the company after the Max 8 crash, would not step down any time soon. The company's board of directors raised the retirement age for chief executive officers from 65 to 70, allowing Mr. Calhoun to remain in the role until April 2028.
But the Alaska Airlines disaster put a halt to those plans, and Boeing's board will now have to identify new executives on a more compressed schedule. The new leader must be someone who can demonstrate to regulators, airline executives, employees and investors that Boeing is firmly committed to improving the quality and safety of its products.
“Given the nature of the demands, the new CEO could be something of a unicorn,” Bank of America Global Research analysts wrote in a research note this month. “They need to have a strong strategic perspective, an understanding of engineering, an understanding of manufacturing, and the ability to win hearts and minds.”
Boeing declined to comment on its search for a chief executive.
Analysts and several people affiliated with Boeing expect the company to focus on a small number of people with experience leading large, complex businesses. This could include former Boeing executives and people who have led other large companies.
His top internal candidate is Pope, a 30-year Boeing veteran who held a number of senior finance positions and led the company's services business before becoming chief operating officer in January. I've been managing.
Boeing also recently appointed Pope to lead its commercial aircraft division. The division makes the 737 Max and other large aircraft used by airlines. The move appeared to be a vote of confidence, given that this division is at the center of Boeing's current problems.
But his appointment to the role, announced on the same day the company announced that Calhoun would step down at the end of the year, is a sign that Boeing's board is looking beyond its own ranks to its next chief executive. It may be a sign that you are thinking about it.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets recently wrote: “We believe Stephanie Pope has strong support within Boeing, making her a potentially very strong CEO candidate.” I wrote this in my research notes. “However, as far as investors are concerned, we believe Boeing's recent problems have disqualified everyone currently employed at the company.”
Analysts expect Boeing to consider several other candidates, chief among them Larry Culp, who recently orchestrated the three-way split of General Electric Co., and Wall Street investors. praised General Electric for solving a long-standing problem.
Mr. Culp is very familiar with Boeing, and his current company, GE Aerospace, makes engines for Boeing and Airbus aircraft. But he recently told industry publication Aviation Week that he was not interested in the Boeing job.
Wesley Bush, former CEO of Northrop Grumman, is also a potential outside candidate with extensive experience running aerospace and defense manufacturers.
Several former Boeing executives are also potential candidates.
One is Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who served as acting secretary of defense under President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Shanahan is chief executive officer of Spirit AeroSystems, a Wichita, Kan.-based supplier to Boeing that was once part of Boeing and is currently in acquisition negotiations with Boeing.
At Boeing, Mr. Shanahan is credited with helping turn around troubled projects, including the 787 Dreamliner program, which was plagued by delays and cost overruns. He was named Spirit's chief executive last fall after the company's former chief resigned following a series of production problems, including issues with the 737 Max jets it built for Boeing Co. .
Another former Boeing executive the board will consider is Greg Smith, who worked for the company for 30 years and served as its chief financial officer before retiring. Mr. Smith, now chairman of American Airlines, a major Boeing customer, was once considered as a candidate to replace Mr. Calhoun. However, he left the company in 2021 after the board extended the retirement age for chief executives to 70, allowing Mr. Calhoun to remain in the role longer.
Mr. Smith served as interim chief executive after Boeing ousted Dennis A. Muilenburg, who had led the company through the 737 Max 8 crash that killed about 350 people.
Mark Allen, who resigned as Boeing's chief strategy officer late last year, is also a possible candidate.
Boeing's search for its next chief executive is in its early stages, and it's unclear how quickly the board will move. The company announced that its new chairman, Steve Mollenkopf, former Qualcomm CEO, will lead the investigation.
“He has an engineering background. He has a no-nonsense style,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said of Mollenkopf in a recent interview with CNBC. “I think the team he ends up leading is going to be a great team.”