Former Rockwell Collins CEO Kelly Ortberg is reportedly in the running
A new name is swirling around as a possible CEO for Boeing $BA. The aerospace industry publication The Air Current reported Sunday that former Rockwell $ROK Collins CEO Kelly Ortberg is being considered as a replacement for outgoing Boeing head Dave Calhoun.
The planemaker is in search of a new leader after one of its 737 Max 9 jets suffered a door plug blowout in January. Since then, the company lost all the momentum from its hoped-for comeback after its last 737 Max mess. Calhoun is retiring at the end of the year.
As Rockwell Collins CEO, Ortberg led a major supplier of flight controls and in-flight entertainment systems. When aviation air conditioning supplier United Technologies Corporation bought Rockwell Collins in 2018, he stayed on to run the division. After RTX Corporation — the parent company of defense giant Raytheon $RTX — merged with UTC in 2020, Ortberg served for a brief time as a “special adviser” to RTX’s CEO.
Ortberg joins a list of other names reportedly being considered for the top Boeing job.
Among them is longtime Boeing executive Stephanie Pope, currently the head of Boeing’s commercial airliner division and before that the company’s chief commercial officer. The industry publication Aviation Week reported last month that a poll of the aerospace industry suppliers revealed that 30% of them expect her to be named CEO.
Another name is Pat Shanahan, the CEO of Spirit Aerosystems. Spirit builds fuselages and was a former Boeing subsidiary that was spun out in 2005 and reacquired earlier this month for $8.3 billion. It built the faulty fuselage that suffered the blowout, but Shanahan still demurred when he was asked about taking over Boeing — getting the reintegration right will be key to restarting the 737 Max moneymaking machine when the Federal Aviation Administration gives the green light for faster production speeds.
The Air Current suggests that a decision on the new CEO could come as soon as this week, since Boeing presents earnings on Wednesday.
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