NEW YORK — Boeing CEO Jim McNerney is stepping away from the controls after 10 years.
The aircraft maker said Tuesday that President and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Muilenburg will become its new CEO on July 1. To ease the transition, McNerney will keep working at Boeing until the end of February. He is also remaining chairman of the Chicago-based company.
McNerney, who took over Boeing as it was struggling with massive production delays from its 787 Dreamliner program, leaves behind a company with a record book of new jet orders and the fastest production rate in history. In the first quarter of this year, it delivered 184 new jets to airlines around the world, up from 161 during the same period the prior year.
Commercial jets now account for about 70 percent of the company’s revenue; most of the remainder comes from its military and space operations. Boeing had $90.76 billion in revenue in 2014.
McNerney, 65, was elected chairman, president and CEO in 2005. He helped Boeing recover from its prior missteps. The 787 carbon-fiber composite jet was assembled from parts manufactured around the globe then assembled by Boeing. Never before had the company handed over so much control of its production to outsiders, and the budget-saving measure ended up creating headaches, delays and expensive cost overruns.
