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Several high-profile candidates have turned down the chance to become Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) CEO, including GE Aerospace (GE) CEO Larry Culp, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, complicating the company’s search for a new leader to succeed Dave Calhoun, who has said he plans to spend by year-end.
Two other potential CEO candidates, Boeing (BA) COO Stephanie Pope and Spirit Aerosystems (SPR) CEO Pat Shanahan, face complications on their path to the top job, while Boeing director and current Carrier Global (CARR) CEO David Gitlin also declined to become a candidate, according to the report.
Another scenario that reportedly has been discussed involves having newly appointed Chairman Steven Mollenkopf step into the CEO role for a transition period, especially if the company is aiming for an internal candidate such as Pope to eventually take over.
Current CEO Calhoun reportedly will tell a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday that Boeing (BA) acknowledges its safety culture has been “far from perfect,” but the company is “taking action and making progress.”
Referring to the January mid-air incident involving an Alaska Airlines-operated MAX 9 jet that created a full-blown safety and reputation crisis, Calhoun’s testimony reportedly says, “In our factories and in our supply chain, we took immediate action to ensure the specific circumstances that led to this accident would not happen again.”
