A University of Iowa engineer will pilot once-proud Boeing (BA) back to cruising altitude after a precipitous drop in the past year. Aerospace veteran Kelly Ortberg, 64, is set to take the yoke at the Arlington-based airliner giant after deliberations by the board of directors.
Ortberg previously headed Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins, now a subsidiary of RTX). A widely respected industry professional, Ortberg moves Boeing back to its former heading of engineer-forward leadership after a lengthy period of cost cutting.
Boeing was formed in 1916 by William Boeing in Seattle. The company initially built seaplanes, but grew into an industry behemoth after numerous mergers, including with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Many attribute this merger of the engineer-minded Boeing with the frugal, bottom-line McDonnell Douglas management, as the precursor to safety failures in the ensuing years.
Boeing has suffered several public relations disasters in recent years, such as the door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in January, and the various sudden altitude loss incidents with 737 MAX airliners in 2018-2019. Two of the planes crashed, leaving 346 people dead.
Among Boeing's array of woes is an alleged self-inflicted wound of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) variety. Boeing's former leadership loudly and proudly embraced DEI principles, leading some to speculate that hiring based on virtue signaling rather than expertise may have led to some of Boeing's headaches.
