Steve Mollenkopf retired as CEO of San Diego’s Qualcomm in 2021 after beating back a corporate takeover attempt, but he faces a new challenge as chairman of the board of trouble-plagued Boeing.
He joined the aircraft maker’s board in 2020 while still at Qualcomm, and takes over as chairman following the resignations on Monday of Boeing Chair Larry Kellner and CEO David Calhoun.
Mollenkopf, an electrical engineer by training, succeeded in beating a takeover attempt by Broadcom and fought off lawsuits from the Federal Trane Commison and Apple during his six years leading Qualcomm.
Now he will lead the search for a new CEO of Boeing, which faces a series of safety issues involving 737 MAX jets that have shaken the industry’s confidence in the company and hampered its ability to increase production to meet high demand for the aircraft.
“I am honored and humbled to step into this new role,” said Mollenkopf. “I am fully confident in this company and its leadership — and together we are committed to taking the right actions to strengthen safety and quality, and to meet the needs of our customers.
“I also want to thank both Larry and Dave for their exceptional stewardship of Boeing during a challenging and consequential time for Boeing and the aerospace industry,” he added.
Under Calhoun’s leadership, the company had struggled to keep pace with competitor Airbus, with its stock losing 43% since 2020.
The company is in the midst of federal investigations and U.S. authorities curbed production while Boeing attempts to fix safety and quality problems. It is in talks to buy former subsidiary Spirit AeroSystems to try to get more control over its supply chain.