Following a series of dysfunctions of aircraft, management waste and a strike of more than 33,000 machinists in 2024, the C Suite C of the Boeing Company continues to evolve.
Brian West, Boeing’s financial director for four years, will have moved and become a principal adviser to the president and chief executive Kelly Ortberg, the Fortune 500 company announced on Monday Malave Jesus “Jay” was appointed executive and financial director, as of August 15.
Malave will direct the financial organization of Boeing, as well as strategy, business planning and world real estate, and will sit on the company’s executive council. He was recently financial director of Lockheed Martin and previously held senior financing positions at L3harris Technologies. Malave spent more than 20 years at United Technologies (UTC), especially as a financial director of Carrier Corporation when it was a UTC division.
West, the predecessor of Malave, was appointed by the former CEO Dave Calhoun in 2021. Calhoun and West are former electric students general. Calhoun, who started in March 2024 to retire by the end of the year following the widely publicized brilliance on Portland, Oregon, on January 5, 2024, was replaced by Ortberg, who began his mandate on August 8, 2024.
By selecting a new CEO, the Boeing Board of Directors was determined to appoint a foreigner like Ortberg which could reform its culture and refocus on the quality and reliability of manufacturing, Fortune reported. The board of directors also asked for a leader with a long -term vision, including plans for an attentive new generation plane to strengthen Boeing’s position against Airbus on the narrow body market.
Ortberg and Malave have worked at UTC during their careers and are now strategic partners. “Jay will become CFO at an important time to help build the next chapter of Boeing,” Ortberg said in a statement. The company continues to progress in its recovery and to implement fundamental changes anchored in security and quality, he added.
Any director general or chief of finance would say that “a solid relationship of the CEO-CFO is essential” to a successful execution-whether the strategy is a turnaround, growth or something between the two, Scott Simmons, co-manager associated with the executive company Crist Kolder Associates said Fortune. “There must be confidence and respect between these two positions for everything to work,” said Simmons.
Malave brings decades of experience in the development of people and teams in complex aerospace and manufacturing companies, according to Ortberg.
Regarding Boeing’s challenges, “I am sure that the board of directors authorized Ortberg to” repair “and provided him with a very long leash,” said Simmons. The most important element that Malave brings, beyond its history as a whole, complex aerospace companies, is the ability to establish instant confidence with Ortberg, he said. “This will allow them to hit the ground on the move,” he said.
Fitch Ratings announced on Monday that he had revised his prospects for Boeing from “negative” to “stable”. The change reflects the improvement of post-frapped production, greater financial flexibility, including the April agreement to sell its navigation and digital aviation activities of Jeppesen and related assets to Thoma Bravo for 10.55 billion dollars in cash and reduces the risks of demotion, supporting the coast of the company “ `bbb- ”. The stable prospects are also invoiced while awaiting the Fitch of the reduction of the gross debt, including the reimbursement of all the 2026 tickets at maturity ($ 7.95 billion).
Malave and Ortberg will have to continue working to maintain a positive dynamic.
