New Boeing CEO focused on restoring trust: 'We clearly have a lot of work to do'
Kelly Ortberg addressed employees on his first day at the helm of the planemaker
New Boeing CEO comes from a good culture: Ron Epstein
Ron Epstein, senior aerospace analyst at Bank of America, weighs in on the current state of aerospace giant Boeing as the company names their new CEO.
New Boeing chief Kelly Ortberg took the helm of the embattled aerospace giant on Thursday, and began his first day on the job with a message to employees.
In the memo shared with FOX Business, Ortberg told the workers "we clearly have a lot of work to do in restoring trust," and laid out his vision for doing so.
Kelly Ortberg took over as Boeing's new president and CEO on Thursday. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Ortberg vowed to stay close to the production lines and to be transparent, while emphasizing the need for the company to meet its commitments and for its 170,000-person-strong team to work collaboratively.
"Because what we do is complex, I firmly believe that we need to get closer to the production lines and development programs across the company," he wrote in the letter. "In fact, I’ll be on the factory floor in Renton today, talking with employees and learning about challenges we need to overcome."
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Ortberg, 64, replaced former CEO Dave Calhoun, and is also Boeing's new president and a member of the board.
The Boeing regional headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Ortberg's extensive to-do list includes mending relationships with airlines and employees, boosting output, repairing company finances and securing a labor deal to avoid a possible worker strike this year.
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The former Rockwell Collins boss said he plans to be based in Seattle to be close to Boeing's commercial airplane programs, such as the 737 Max, whose production has slowed following a Jan. 5 midair panel blowout on a near-new model.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 157.62 | -4.53 | -2.79% |
The Boeing Co.
"Restoring trust starts with meeting our commitments — whether that’s building high quality, safe commercial aircraft, delivering on defense and space products that allow our customers to meet their mission, or servicing our products to keep our customers running 24/7," Ortberg wrote.
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"People’s lives depend on what we do every day, and we must keep that top of mind with every decision we make."
Reuters contributed to this report.