Examining Dave Calhoun’s Leadership Challenges and Impact as CEO of Boeing

Boeing is traversing a critical period under the leadership of CEO Dave Calhoun, who is tackling rising challenges head-on. These challenges include production delays and a shrinking market share, notably against the backdrop of fierce competition from Airbus. On March 21, Dave Calhoun declared his departure from the position of Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer. As a disciple of the renowned Jack Welch—the legendary former CEO of General Electric—Calhoun’s resignation aligns him with other Welch proteges, such as James McNerney, who have faced trials in their leadership roles.

David L. Calhoun has been president and chief executive officer of Boeing since January 2020. He was previously Boeing’s chairman and was appointed president and CEO after his predecessor Dennis Muilenburg was fired amidst safety concerns regarding the 737 MAX after two fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 346 passengers and crew on board.

After graduating from college, Calhoun was hired by General Electric (GE). He decided to join GE in part because he would be working in Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania, where he grew up. He worked at GE for 26 years, overseeing transportation, aircraft engines, reinsurance, lighting and other GE units, before being appointed vice chairman and a member of GE’s Board of Directors in 2005.

Calhoun left GE to join privately held global information services firm VNU as CEO in 2006. Under his leadership, the company rebranded itself as Nielsen Holdings, returned to the public markets in 2011, and was added to the S&P 500 Index in 2013. In 2014, Calhoun became executive chairman of Nielsen, and also joined The Blackstone Group as a Senior Managing Director and head of Private Equity Portfolio Operations. He also became a member of Blackstone’s management committee.

At Boeing, Calhoun served as a director, starting in 2009, and was named lead independent director in 2018. The company separated the roles of chairman and chief executive officer in the fall of 2019 so that Muilenburg could “implement changes to sharpen Boeing’s focus on product and services safety,” according to a press release. At the same time, the board named Calhoun non-executive chairman.

Calhoun’s Public Comments on Accidents Involving Boeing Aircraft

In a March 2020 interview with The New York Times, Calhoun discussed the 737 MAX’s MCAS software, saying the Boeing had made a “fatal mistake” in expecting that pilots could immediately correct the software problems. He went on to explain that “pilots [in Ethiopia and Indonesia] don’t have anywhere near the experience that they have here in the U.S.” He unsuccessfully requested to go off the record after being asked whether American pilots would have been able to control the situation, and then replied, “[f]orget it, you can guess the answer.”

On January 5, 2024, a door plug on a Boeing 737-9 aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines (Alaska Airlines Flight 1282) blew out, causing an uncontrolled decompression. The aircraft returned to Portland, Oregon, for an emergency landing. There were no fatalities. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA announced investigations. At a staff meeting on January 9, Calhoun acknowledged Boeing’s responsibility. “We are gonna approach this—No. 1—acknowledging our mistake,” he told employees. Calhoun added he had been “shaken to the bone” by the accident.

Calhoun’s Compensation

In 2022, Calhoun received $22.5 million from Boeing. Most of his 2022 compensation was in the form of estimated value of stock and option awards. He received the same $1.4 million salary as in 2021.

Boeing announced in March 2023 that Calhoun would not receive a $7 million performance-based bonus, which had been tied to getting the new widebody 777X into service by the end of 2023.

In February 2023, Boeing awarded Calhoun an incentive of about $5.29 million in restricted stock units to “induce him to stay throughout the company’s recovery.” In March 2023, Boeing announced Calhoun was being given shares worth $15 million that will vest in installments over three years.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, en.wikipedia.org, flightglobal.com