Steve Mollenkopf

With CEO hunt, Boeing’s low-key board chair enters the spotlight

Deep aerospace experience isn’t strictly necessary as the board of directors of Boeing looks for a chief executive officer who can start over and guide the American aircraft manufacturer out of its biggest crisis in years.

This makes room for outsiders in the industry and has increased curiosity in the goals of the former technology executive spearheading the hiring process: Boeing Chair Steve Mollenkopf, a former CEO of Qualcomm and trained engineer with experience in turbulent corporate environments.

Mollenkopf is being silent on the nature of the search. In order to gain a better understanding of the scope of the cleanup that will be required of the company’s future leader, he has been speaking with Boeing suppliers and airline customers in private about their grievances. According to those familiar with the process, his rigorous fact-finding indicates that the CEO hunt is still in its early stages, with assistance from executive search company Russell Reynolds Associates.

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When Mollenkopf made his first public appearance as chair at Boeing’s annual general meeting on Friday, that increased the sense of intrigue. Even though these events are frequently unremarkable, a lot of people watched the virtual session.

For Boeing directors, selecting Calhoun’s replacement is one of the most important choices they will make in a long time. The aerospace behemoth’s problems include federal probes into its production quality standards, mounting financial pressures, potential legal action, a customer backlash that resulted in management changes, and dwindling market share to a determined rival in Airbus.

In a letter to shareholders sent in April, Mollenkopf stated, “The months and years ahead are critically important.” “A successful, safe, and healthy Boeing is what the world needs. And that’s what it will ultimately receive.

Following a near-catastrophe on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 aircraft in January, Boeing saw a steep decline in reputation that highlighted the harm caused by a 25-year-long cultural shift that prioritized financial returns over manufacturing techniques. Calhoun has stated that he will remain on until the end of the year at the least. Whoever succeeds him will need to restore the company’s safety culture, mend fences with irate airlines, and regain market share that has been shifting in Airbus’s favor.

Boeing cannot afford to give its future leader a lengthy learning curve given the magnitude of the difficulties. However, the underlying businesses—which combine highly sophisticated engineering, high-volume production, and machinery constructed to the greatest safety standards—are difficult for outsiders to grasp, according to consultant and seasoned aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.

The qualities required for the future CEO of Boeing, according to Aboulafia, are “a deep desire to fix a badly broken company and a love for this industry.”

Given the inconsistent performance of veteran director Calhoun, employees and investors would likely be wary of Boeing adding another director. Since 2020, Mollenkopf has served as a director. He turned down an interview for this article.

According to Aboulafia, “anyone who has been on the board for more than one or two years has some explaining to do.”

Boeing has a chair in Mollenkopf, 55, who has witnessed more than his fair share of business disasters. He is an inventor and electrical engineer who has degrees from Virginia Tech and the University of Michigan. He is also the owner of thirty patents. The latter includes Calhoun on its alumni list.

During his seven years as CEO of Qualcomm, the business he joined right out of college, Mollenkopf dealt with a wide range of issues that could have forced the semiconductor manufacturer into bankruptcy.

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In response to pressure from some of the biggest corporations globally, regulators in China, the EU, and the US started looking into Qualcomm’s most lucrative sector, which is technology licensing. A hostile takeover and an activist shareholder challenge were presented to him. Qualcomm faced a fierce legal battle from Apple, a powerful player in the mobile phone market where the business makes its living.

Mollenkopf won, although not by much.

All of it was united by his conviction that the most advanced technology ultimately triumphs. Because of Qualcomm’s unmatched expertise in wireless communications, Apple was compelled to abandon its ambitions to unseat the San Diego-based company’s technology licensing division. Even now, Apple continues to use its CPUs in the iPhone. The $117 billion proposal by Broadcom to acquire Qualcomm was thwarted by the Trump team.

Despite the turns and turns, Mollenkopf stayed true to himself. Those who know him say he’s remained a modest engineer, concentrating his remarks on the advantages of certain technologies and avoiding bold claims or hyperbole. When he heads the hunt for what is perhaps the hardest position in corporate America right now—turning around Boeing—those same qualities will be highlighted.

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