CHICAGO — Boeing on Tuesday announced that Jim McNerney, who led the aerospace giant for the past decade, will be stepping down as CEO on July 1, replaced by the company’s chief operating officer, Dennis A. Muilenburg.
Muilenburg, 51, has been with Boeing for 30 years. He has worked at Boeing in roles including president and CEO of its defense space and security business. He was named president and COO of the company in December 2013 and is also co-vice chairman of Boeing.
McNerney, 65, will remain chairman of Boeing’s board of directors, where he has served since 2001. He will remain a Boeing employee through February “to ensure a smooth transition of his CEO responsibilities to Muilenburg,” the Chicago-based company said, adding that he will also continue advocating on behalf of Boeing, including in Washington, D.C.
McNerney took over Boeing as it was struggling with massive production delays from its 787 Dreamliner program. He leaves behind a company with a record book of new jet orders and the fastest production rate in history. In the first quarter of this year, it delivered 184 new jets to airlines around the world, up from 161 during the same period the prior year.
Commercial jets now account for about 70 percent of the company’s revenue; most of the remainder came from its military and space operations. Boeing had $90.76 billion in revenue in 2014.
“Dennis is an extremely capable, experienced and respected leader with an immense passion for our company, our people, and our products and services,” McNerney said in a statement. “As CEO, Dennis will bring a rich combination of management skills, customer focus, business and engineering acumen, a can-do spirit and the will to win. With a deep appreciation of our past accomplishments, and the energy and skill to drive those to come, he is well suited to lead our very talented Boeing team into its second century.”
“The opportunity to lead the people of Boeing in service to our commercial and government customers is a tremendous honor and responsibility,” Muilenburg said in a statement. “Our company is financially strong and well positioned in our markets. As we continue to drive the benefits of integrating our enterprise skills, capabilities and experience — what we call operating as ‘One Boeing’ — we will find new and better ways to engage and inspire employees, deliver innovation that drives customer success, and produce results to fuel future growth and prosperity for all our stakeholders.”
McNerney reached Boeing’s mandatory retirement age of 65 last August but continued to serve with the board’s approval. He was elected chairman, president and CEO in 2005.
The 787 carbon-fiber composite jet was assembled from parts manufactured around the globe then assembled by Boeing. Never before had the company handed over so much control of its production to outsiders and the budget-saving measure ended up creating headaches, delays and expensive cost overruns.
Under McNerney, Boeing also moved some 787 production away from unionized workers in Everett to non-union ones in South Carolina.
Outside the 787, the company has kept to safe bets. Instead of developing new commercial airlines, it has tweaked its existing offerings — stretching fuselages to accommodate more passengers and altering existing airframes to accommodate new, more fuel-efficient engines.
Boeing Co. said Raymond Conner will be its sole vice chairman. Conner, 60, is in charge of Boeing’s Renton-based commercial airplanes business.
McNerney earned $28.9 million in 2014 and was the highest-paid CEO of a public company in the Chicago region, according to a recent Chicago Tribune analysis.
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