Troubled American plane maker Boeing is changing a few names at the top as it announced Steve Mollenkopf and Akhil Johri have been nominated to join the board of directors and also announced that current directors Edward Liddy and Mike Zafirovski will stand down. Mollenkopf, 51, has served as CEO of Qualcomm since 2014. He has helped lead the company through the transitions to 3G, 4G and 5G since the beginning of his career as an engineer more than 25 years ago. Johri, 58, served as CFO of United Technologies from 2015 to 2019. He previously held various executive positions of increasing responsibility over his 31-year career at the company and currently serves as an independent director of Cardinal Health.
“Our announcement today reflects our rigorous succession planning, which ensures we maintain the right balance of skills and experience to effectively govern the company,” said Boeing Chairman Larry Kellner. “We are pleased to welcome Steve and Akhil to the Boeing board. They are proven leaders at complex, global enterprises and together will bring significant additional safety, engineering, software and financial experience to our board. I also thank our two retiring directors, who have provided leadership and exemplary service to the board. Ed has reached the board’s mandatory retirement age, and Mike has decided not to stand for re-election after 15 years on our board.”
“Serving alongside Ed and Mike on the Boeing Board has been a privilege,” said Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun. “I look forward to benefiting from Steve’s strong leadership skills and deep experience in developing, testing and deploying technologies at scale, and from Akhil’s world-class financial expertise, particularly in relation to the manufacturing of aerospace systems.”
“I am honoured to be nominated as a director of Boeing and look forward to the opportunity to work with the board and the executive team,” said Mollenkopf.
“Boeing has a respected history of delivering on its commitments to stakeholders, and I look forward to supporting the continuation of that track record as a member of its board,” said Johri.
