David Calhoun, independent lead director at Boeing (NYSE: BA), has been elected to serve as non-executive chairman after the aerospace and defense company™s board decided to separate the chairman and CEO roles in an effort to strengthen the firm™s safety management practices and governance.
Dennis Muilenburg will continue to serve as president, CEO and a director as Boeing works to implement changes to improve its focus on services and product safety and return the 737 Max aircraft to service, Boeing said Friday.
“The board has full confidence in Dennis as CEO and believes this division of labor will enable maximum focus on running the business with the board playing an active oversight role, Calhoun said.
Calhoun added a new director who has deep safety experience will be appointed to serve on the board and on the newly formed aerospace safety committee.
Calhoun has been a board member at Boeing since 2009. He is a senior managing director at The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) and a board member at Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT). He previously served as board chairman and CEO at Nielsen Holdings (NYSE: NLSN) and held senior leadership roles at General Electric (NYSE: GE) during his 26-year tenure there.
