New Boeing CEO Kelly OrtbergRTX

Troubled Boeing named Robert K. "Kelly" Ortberg as the company's new president and chief executive officer.

The new role will be effective August 8, 2024. Ortberg will also serve on Boeing's Board of Directors.

He will succeed Dave Calhoun, who earlier this year announced his intention to retire.

"The Board conducted a thorough and extensive search process over the last several months to select the next CEO of Boeing and Kelly has the right skills and experience to lead Boeing in its next chapter," said Steven Mollenkopf, Chair of the Board.

"Kelly is an experienced leader who is deeply respected in the aerospace industry, with a well-earned reputation for building strong teams and running complex engineering and manufacturing companies. We look forward to working with him as he leads Boeing through this consequential period in its long history."

Ortberg, 64, brings over 35 years of aerospace leadership to this position, according to Boeing.

He began his career in 1983 as an engineer at Texas Instruments, and then joined Rockwell Collins in 1987 as a program manager and became its president and CEO in 2013.

He steered the company's integration with United Technologies and RTX until his retirement from RTX in 2021.

He has held a number of important leadership posts in industry, including serving on the Board of Directors of RTX.

Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of Aptiv PLC, a global technology company and an industry leader in vehicle systems architecture. He is the former Chair of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Board of Governors.

Ortberg holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.

"I'm extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company," said Ortberg. "Boeing has a tremendous and rich history as a leader and pioneer in our industry, and I'm committed to working together with the more than 170,000 dedicated employees of the company to continue that tradition, with safety and quality at the forefront. There is much work to be done, and I'm looking forward to getting started."

Ortberg joins a company that is dealing with safety woes.

The airplane has faced a series of recent mechanical mishaps, questionable parts manufacturing and several whistleblowers' allegations of criminal coverups.