Boeing raises mandatory retirement age for CEO Calhoun by 5 years, CFO to retire

• Boeing raised the company's mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 for its current CEO
• Dave Calhoun, a former GE executive and longtime Boeing board member turned 64 on Sunday.
• The CEO took the helm as Boeing was dealing with the fallout of two 737 Max crashes and the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Boeing on Tuesday said it is raising the mandatory retirement age of 64-year-old CEO Dave Calhoun from 65 to 70 as the company continues face challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, production issues and the aftermath of two crashes of its bestselling plane.

Boeing's CFO, Greg Smith, will retire in July, the manufacturer said. The company said it is conducting a search for his successor.

Calhoun, who joined Boeing's board in 2009, became CEO in January 2020 following a three-month stint as chairman. At the time, the company was reeling from the financial and reputational fallout from two crashes of its 737 Max planes within five months of one another. The board ousted the previous CEO over his handling of the crisis.

Boeing's board faces a reelection vote at an annual meeting as production and financial problems continue.

The pandemic began shortly after Calhoun took the top job, hurting demand for air travel and new planes. Boeing's losses ballooned to $11.9 billion last year from $636 million in 2019.

But since regulators began clearing the Max for commercial service again in November, sales have started to recover. Boeing has scored new Max orders from big customers like United Airlines and Southwest Airlines this year.

Chairman Larry Kellner said the board's decision was based on "the substantial progress Boeing has made under Dave's leadership, as well as the continuity necessary to thrive in our long-cycle industry."

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