Pope no longer COO at Boeing but remains head of commercial airplanes unit

Arlington County-based Fortune 500 aerospace company and defense contractor Boeing announced Tuesday that Stephanie Pope is no longer the company’s chief operating officer but still leads its commercial airplane unit, as of Feb. 19.

According to an SEC filing posted Tuesday evening, Pope will no longer hold the COO title but will continue to serve as Boeing’s executive vice president, as well as president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The company declined to elaborate on the role change.

The company’s website states that Pope has had a three-decade career at Boeing and has held numerous senior leadership roles at the corporate, business unit and program levels.

A person familiar with the company’s decision explained that the company is not expected to name a new COO, with the position being eliminated. However, the person noted Pope would still maintain essential roles within the company and that she has received praise from new CEO Robert “Kelly” Ortberg for her work. Pope is still leading BCA, which the source described as the company’s second most important leadership role.

The source noted that in late 2023, former CEO Dave Calhoun talked about potential retirement and named Pope as COO and his possible successor. This was the month before a January 2024 incident where a Boeing 737 Jet experienced a midair panel blowout while filled with Alaska Airlines passengers. The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation, and the FBI wrote letters to passengers telling them that they may be victims of a crime.

Amid the fallout from that incident and ongoing bad press over production problems and plummeting sales, Boeing announced in March 2024 that Calhoun was stepping down by the end of 2024, but his departure was moved up when Ortberg took over as president and CEO in August. As part of the management shakeup last March, Pope was appointed to lead the company’s Boeing Commercial Airplanes business unit, replacing BCA President and CEO Stan Deal.

As unit leader, Pope oversees the design, production and delivery of advanced jetliners to customers worldwide.

The source familiar with the decision said that the COO title was a legacy role going back to Calhoun, and that Ortberg has made other changes to streamline the organization.