Boeing sticks with CEO Calhoun as potential successor exits

Boeing is sticking with CEO Dave Calhoun to guide the company through a long and uncertain recovery, while parting ways with a potential contender for his job. The company’s board raised Calhoun’s retirement age to 70, citing the 64-year-old’s “substantial progress” in ending the 737 Max grounding and bringing the planemaker back from the Covid-19 pandemic. In another surprise, Boeing said Tuesday that CFO Greg Smith will exit July 9 after guiding the company’s operations through years of turmoil. The shake-up tightens Calhoun’s grip and eliminates potential distractions over succession as he carries out a multiyear rebuilding effort. The departing CFO had been overseeing the company’s day-to-day turnaround efforts and was a familiar face on Wall Street. Last year, Smith spearheaded a $25 billion bond financing -- the biggest in Boeing’s history -- to keep the company afloat amid the unprecedented travel collapse caused by the pandemic. The decision “gives an outline of the leadership path for Boeing in the 2020s, though there is still much to learn about strategy and personnel,” Seth Seifman, an analyst with JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a note to clients. Speaking at Boeing’s annual meeting Tuesday, the CEO vowed to return the planemaker to its engineering roots. He also outlined initiatives to shake up the company’s culture and streamline its business as it restructures after burning through $20b in cash last year.<br/>