Boeing’s Stephanie Pope was considered a CEO contender. Now the planemaker’s succession plan is in doubt
Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel faces criticism during her first days as an NBC contributor, LSU coach Kim Mulkey threatens to sue the Washington Post, and Stephanie Pope will become the CEO of Boeing's commercial airplanes unit. Have a terrific Tuesday.
- Turbulent times. Boeing announced Monday that three executives were stepping down or retiring from the beleaguered aircraft company: CEO David Calhoun, chairman of the board Larry Kellner, and former Boeing Commercial Airplanes head Stan Deal. At the same time, it announced that one executive was stepping up: Boeing named COO Stephanie Pope to head its commercial airplane division as it tries to recover from a series of devastating mishaps.
The shakeup at the planemaker comes two months after a door plug flew off a Boeing 737 Max mid-flight, and several years after two crashes killed hundreds of passengers. Boeing's quality control has been under intense scrutiny since the door plug incident, including by the FBI, regulators, and some passengers who say they are too anxious to fly on the company’s planes.
Pope, 51, became Boeing’s first chief operating officer in January, but has held numerous other positions at the company throughout her three-decade career there, mainly in finance, as detailed in this story by Fortune’s Jane Thier. Before Monday, she was seen by many as a shoo-in to take over for Calhoun when he eventually retired, according to the New York Times. Now, those succession plans appear to be in doubt; the company may consider an outsider to be its next CEO.
Calhoun told employees Pope was “the perfect person” to lead the commercial aircraft division going forward. In her new role, Pope will oversee the designing and building of planes, an operation that's crucial to restoring the public’s trust in the larger company. It is a 'glass cliff' moment—the phenomenon of women being promoted amid crisis—if there ever was one.
But Pope, a third-generation Boeing employee, has found herself in pressure-packed situations before. “Women tend to be, myself included, more hesitant around challenges or new opportunities, and it really comes down to fear of failure,” Pope said back in 2017. “I remind myself that usually when I’m the most uncomfortable or the most fearful, those are the pivotal moments in life where I grew personally and professionally.”
Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
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