Boeing has named another new head of communications, its fourth in less than a year. Ed Dandridge was tipped for the post of senior vice president and chief communications officer effective 28 September and succeeds Greg Smith, who has served as interim chief communications officer since July. Dandridge will report to Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun and will serve on the company’s Executive Council. Dandridge will oversee all aspects of Boeing’s communications, including business unit communications, corporate communications, media relations, public affairs, leadership communications, employee engagement and corporate branding, as well as channel and content marketing.
The previous head of communications, Niel Golightly, resigned in July after an article he wrote more than 30 years ago surfaced that was controversial for its views on women serving in combat. He had held the post for less than a year after taking over from Anne Toulouse who retired in early 2020.
“Ed is an exceptional communications executive, strategist and global leader with a track record of developing and leading high-performing teams that enable businesses to deepen their engagement with customers and drive outcomes,” Calhoun said. “I know Ed will continue to build on our unwavering commitment to engaging our associates and stakeholders with transparency as we confront these challenging times as an industry and company.”
Dandridge joins Boeing from AIG, where he served as global chief marketing and communications officer, AIG General Insurance, since April 2018. At AIG he served on the executive leadership team of the property and casualty business, which markets and distributes products and services to commercial clients, individual customers and distribution networks in more than 80 countries.