Boeing has replaced the head of the 737 MAX program, effective immediately, in the first major executive shakeup since the revelation of quality control problems on its 737 production line.
Ed Clark, an 18-year Boeing veteran, has been replaced by Katie Ringgold, who will become vice president and general manager of the 737 program. Reuters reported Clark’s departure on February 21 after reviewing an internal memo it said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal sent to staff.
In another management move, Boeing has appointed Elizabeth Lund to a newly created position of senior vice president overseeing quality control at the aircraft maker.
The news of a management shakeup in in the 737 program came in the wake of an in-flight door plug blowing out of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 January 5. While the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not officially determined the cause of the door plug failure, the initial conclusion indicated that production workers failed to properly secure the door plug prior to the aircraft leaving the production line.
Clark had been in charge of Boeing’s 737 production line in Renton, Washington since 2021, according to Reuters.
Douglas Royce covers the aviation gas turbine and military markets at Forecast International, a market research firm that forecasts annual production across a wide range of aerospace and defense systems.
