Boeing Promotes Stephanie Pope to COO, Fueling CEO Succession Speculation

Pope's promotion comes amid Boeing's struggles with manufacturing and supply-chain issues, but the company maintains a large backlog of orders for commercial planes.

Boeing has promoted Stephanie Pope, the head of its services business, to chief operating officer, effective from Jan. 1, 2024.
Pope, who has been with Boeing for nearly 30 years, is now considered a potential successor to CEO David Calhoun.
Industry observers have named Pope and CFO Brian West as potential successors to Calhoun, who has shown no plans to retire soon.
Boeing has faced manufacturing and supply-chain problems, interrupting production of the Max and the 787 Dreamliner, and setbacks in military programs.
Despite losing $2.2 billion in the first nine months of 2023, Boeing has a large backlog of orders for commercial planes as airlines seek more fuel-efficient models.