Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun received total compensation of $32.8 million for 2023, a 60% increase from the $20.5 million he received for 2022.
Boeing did enjoy improved results in 2023 from Calhoun’s first two years running the troubled aircraft manufacturer. It continued to lose money as it has every year since 2019, but it trimmed those losses by 60%, reporting a core operating loss of $1.8 billion. Its stock gained 37% during the year, and it had a record month for new commercial jet orders in December, giving it one of its best sales years ever, as airlines were eager for new jets to meet strong demand for travel.
But on January 5 a door plug blew off of an Boeing 737 Max flown by Alaska Airlines, causing a gaping hole in the side of the jet. While the crew was able to get the plane on the ground without any serious injuries, it has brought new focus to a series of quality and safety issues with Boeing planes, and sparked numerous federal investigations of the company.
A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the plane had left a Boeing factory two months before the incident missing the four bolts needed to hold the door plug in place.
While it has yet to assess blame for that failure, Calhoun told investors in January that “we caused the problem, and we understand that. Whatever conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened.”
Last month Calhoun announced he would be retiring at later this year and that the company had launched a search for a new CEO. Calhoun turns 67 later this month and Boeing’s board had actually moved back the retirement age for CEOs by five years to keep him in place.
Calhoun became CEO in January of 2020, in the midst of a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max that followed two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in late 2018 and early 2019. Almost immediately Boeing and the aviation industry was hit by a near halt in air travel caused by the pandemic, which caused demand for planes to come to a near halt. In April of that year Calhoun suspended his base pay. But stock and other compensation he had already received when taking the job brought his 2020 total compensation to $21.7 million. It climbed slowly steadily in the two subsequent years, bringing his total compensation to $64.6 million heading into 2023.
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