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Boeing

Four areas of change, From October 2024

Turn this big ship in the right direction and restore Boeing to the leadership position that we all know and want
Kelly Ortberg’s mission for Boeing

Four areas of change

Boeing builds commercial airplanes and defense and space systems, and services them, with a record $715 billion of orders to deliver. Kelly Ortberg became chief executive in August 2024 with trust in the company eroded, too much debt, and serious lapses in performance, and set out change in four areas.,

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Change the culture

Leaders on the floorPut leaders, from the chief executive down, on the factory floors, in the back shops, and in the engineering labs, so problems are found and fixed early.23 October 2024
ValuesSet new values with employees, and use them to hold leaders to account for safe, high-quality work.23 October 2024
Boeing shared new values and behaviours, written by employees from across the company, in April 2025. It now bases performance management, people decisions, and leadership development on them.24 April 2025
Kelly Ortberg moved to Seattle to be closer to the people who design and build Boeing’s products.24 April 2025

737 production is moving from 42 to 47 a month

Boeing needs the FAA’s approval to raise the 737’s production rate, and its Safety and Quality Plan is one of the ways the stability of its factories is measured. Boeing delivered 265 737s in 2024, 447 in 2025, and 243 in the first half of 2026.,,

Fourth quarter of 2025

17 hours

between one 737 and the next at 42 a month, or about 504 a year.

Worked out from the monthly rate, over an average month of 731 hours.

A record backlog of $715 billion

In June 2026 Boeing’s backlog included more than 6,200 commercial airplanes worth $597 billion. How long Boeing takes to build them depends on how steadily its factories run.

10.3 years

to deliver the commercial backlog at 2025’s pace of 600 airplanes a year.

Worked out: the backlog at the end of June 2026 divided by the year’s commercial deliveries. Each airplane drawn stands for ten, and the shade changes with each year of deliveries.,

  1. Start from a plain account.

    Kelly Ortberg opened his first results by naming the problems: eroded trust, too much debt, and serious lapses in performance. We recommend a turnaround plan that starts from an honest account of where the company stands.

  2. Earn the right to speed up.

    Boeing tied its 737 rate increases to a Safety and Quality Plan reviewed with its regulator, and raised rates as stability was shown. We recommend making growth targets depend on the measures that show the business can carry them.

  3. Use values in decisions.

    Boeing’s new values, written by employees, now drive performance management, people decisions, and leadership development. We recommend values that shape how people are judged, not a poster on the wall.

Sources

  1. 1. The Boeing Company (2024). Boeing CEO message on third quarter results. Boeing newsroom, 23 October 2024, with Kelly Ortberg’s prepared remarks. boeing.mediaroom.com
  2. 2. Kelly Ortberg, The Boeing Company (2025). 2025 address to shareholders. boeing.com, 24 April 2025. boeing.com
  3. 3. The Boeing Company (2026). Boeing reports fourth quarter results. Boeing investor relations, 27 January 2026. s2.q4cdn.com
  4. 4. The Boeing Company (2026). Boeing reports second quarter results. Boeing investor relations, 28 July 2026. s2.q4cdn.com

Headwater is not connected with Boeing. Boeing, 737 MAX, 777X, 787 Dreamliner, Red Hawk, and Stingray are trade marks of their owners. Updated 30 September 2026.

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