Kelly Ortberg

Kelly Ortberg is the CEO of Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company and one of America's most important industrial manufacturers. Ortberg was appointed in August 2024, replacing Dave Calhoun who stepped down amid the ongoing 737 MAX safety crisis that had plagued the company since 2018. A career aerospace engineer who previously served as CEO of Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace), Ortberg was recruited specifically for his deep engineering background and operational credibility. Ortberg inherited a company in profound crisis. Two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people and led to a worldwide grounding. The Alaska Airlines door plug blowout in January 2024 renewed scrutiny of Boeing's manufacturing quality. Congressional investigations, FAA production caps, union strikes, and a Department of Justice plea agreement over fraud charges created a multi-front crisis unlike anything in Boeing's 108-year history. One of his first symbolic acts was moving Boeing's executive leadership presence back to Seattle, near the company's main manufacturing facilities — reversing the controversial 2001 move to Chicago that critics blamed for creating a disconnect between management and engineering. Ortberg has stated that his priority is rebuilding Boeing's manufacturing quality and safety culture from the factory floor up, before pursuing growth or new programs. The challenges facing Ortberg are immense: Boeing's commercial airplane delivery rates remain constrained by FAA oversight, the defense and space division has significant fixed-price contract losses, supply chain recovery from COVID is incomplete, and Airbus has seized market share during Boeing's crisis. With over 150,000 employees and a backlog of 5,600+ aircraft orders, Boeing remains critical to the global aviation industry, making Ortberg's turnaround effort one of the most watched corporate recoveries in industrial history.