<p>Boeing’s board of directors has raised the mandatory retirement age for CEO David Calhoun from 65 to 70, just days after he turned 64. </p>
<p>Calhoun, who celebrated a birthday Sunday, has been CEO since January 2020. He replaced Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted amid a crisis over two deadly crashes of the company’s 737 Max jetliner. </p>
<p>The company also announced that Chief Financial Officer Gregory Smith, 54, will retire in July, and a search has begun for a successor. Smith has spent more than 30 years at the company.</p>
<p>The announcements were made shortly before the company’s annual shareholder meeting, which is being conducted online. A proxy advisory firm has recommended that shareholders vote against re-electing Chairman Larry Kellner and another board member.</p>
<p>Boeing lost more than $11.9 billion last year as the extended grounding of all its Max jets and then the pandemic led to a plunge in aircraft orders and deliveries.</p>
<p>Max jets worldwide were grounded for nearly two years until late 2020, when regulators in the United States and many other countries approved changes Boeing made to a flight-control system implicated in the crashes, which killed 346 people. China, the plane’s single largest market, has not yet allowed the planes to resume flying.</p>
<p>“Boeing has effectively navigated one of the most challenging and complex periods in its long history.” Kellner said in a prepared statement. Calhoun, he said, has increased confidence in the company among regulators and airline customers.</p>
<p>After the rough stretch, a desire for continuity drove the board to allow Calhoun to stay in the job, Kellner said, potentially until early 2028.</p>
