Kelly Ortberg

Kelly Ortberg
Ortberg testifies at a Senate hearing, April 2025
Kelly Ortberg
Born	Robert Kelly Ortberg April 1960
Birthplace	Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	President and CEO, Boeing
Known for	CEO of Boeing, former CEO of Rockwell Collins
Education	University of Iowa (BS)
Children	2

Robert Kelly Ortberg (born April 1960) is an American business executive serving as the president and chief executive officer of Boeing, a role he assumed in August 2024. Before joining Boeing, Ortberg spent more than three decades at Rockwell Collins (later Collins Aerospace), where he rose through the engineering and management ranks to become president and CEO. His appointment at Boeing came during one of the most turbulent periods in the company's modern history — a stretch marked by the Boeing 737 MAX groundings, manufacturing quality crises, significant financial losses, and intense regulatory scrutiny. Tasked with stabilizing the aerospace giant, Ortberg relocated to the Seattle area and set about refocusing the company on engineering discipline and production quality. Within his first year, analysts and airline executives credited him with steadying Boeing's operations, improving 737 MAX production rates, and navigating the resolution of a major machinist strike, developments that contributed to a meaningful recovery in the company's share price.

Early Life

Robert Kelly Ortberg was born in April 1960 in Dubuque, Iowa. He grew up in the Cedar Rapids area of Iowa, a region with deep ties to the aerospace industry owing to the longstanding presence of Rockwell Collins and its predecessor companies. His upbringing in Iowa's industrial heartland shaped his career path toward engineering and aerospace manufacturing.

Records from The Gazette of Cedar Rapids indicate the Ortberg family's roots in the region. A 1983 announcement in the newspaper documented the Heitman-Ortberg family. His mother, Carol M. Ortberg, was also documented in the local press.

Ortberg's background in Iowa, a state with a significant but often overlooked role in the American aerospace supply chain, provided him with proximity to the engineering culture of avionics manufacturing from an early age. Cedar Rapids had been a center for avionics development since World War II, when the predecessor to Rockwell Collins began producing communications equipment for the military. This industrial environment would prove formative for Ortberg's career trajectory.

Education

Ortberg attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. His engineering education provided the technical foundation that would distinguish his leadership style throughout his career. Unlike some corporate executives who follow finance or business administration paths to the corner office, Ortberg's background was rooted in the technical disciplines of product design and manufacturing — a characteristic that would later be cited as a key qualification for leading Boeing during its quality and engineering crisis.

Career

Rockwell Collins

After graduating from the University of Iowa, Ortberg joined Rockwell Collins, the Cedar Rapids-based avionics and aerospace electronics company, beginning a career that would span more than three decades at the firm. He started in engineering roles and progressively moved into management positions of increasing responsibility within the organization.

Over the course of his tenure, Ortberg gained experience across multiple divisions of the company, developing expertise in avionics systems, communications equipment, simulation and training systems, and defense electronics. His ascent through the ranks was methodical, reflecting the promote-from-within culture that characterized Rockwell Collins during that era.

In 2013, during his time in senior leadership, Rockwell Collins completed the acquisition of ARINC, a major provider of aviation communications and information technology systems, for $1.39 billion. The deal significantly expanded the company's services portfolio and positioned it more prominently in the commercial aviation technology market.

Ortberg was named president and chief executive officer of Rockwell Collins, the culmination of his long career at the company. As CEO, he oversaw a period of strategic transformation for the firm, managing its portfolio of defense and commercial avionics businesses while navigating the consolidation trend that was reshaping the aerospace supplier industry.

A pivotal chapter in Ortberg's tenure as Rockwell Collins CEO came with the company's acquisition by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) in a deal that was completed in 2018. The merger combined Rockwell Collins with UTC's aerospace division to form Collins Aerospace, creating one of the largest aerospace systems suppliers in the world. Ortberg played a central role in this transition, helping to integrate the two organizations before eventually retiring from the combined entity.

Following the completion of the UTC merger and the formation of Collins Aerospace, Ortberg stepped down from his executive role. After his departure, he relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida. He entered a period of retirement from full-time corporate leadership, though he maintained connections to the aerospace industry.

Appointment as Boeing CEO

On July 31, 2024, Boeing's board of directors announced the appointment of Kelly Ortberg as the company's next president and chief executive officer, effective August 8, 2024. He succeeded Dave Calhoun, who had announced earlier in the year that he would step down.

The appointment came during an exceptionally difficult period for Boeing. The company had been grappling with the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019, which killed a combined 346 people and led to a worldwide grounding of the aircraft type. A January 2024 incident in which a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in flight had reignited concerns about Boeing's manufacturing quality, triggering fresh regulatory investigations and further eroding public confidence in the company. Boeing had reported substantial financial losses, and its stock price had declined significantly.

The board's selection of Ortberg was seen as a deliberate choice of an executive with deep aerospace engineering and operational experience, in contrast to the finance-oriented leadership that had characterized Boeing's recent management. As an outsider to Boeing but a longtime aerospace industry executive, Ortberg was positioned as someone who could bring a fresh perspective while possessing the technical fluency needed to address the company's manufacturing and quality control issues.

In a notable decision signaling his priorities, Ortberg announced that he would be based at Boeing's facilities in the Seattle metropolitan area, the historic center of the company's commercial aircraft manufacturing operations. This represented a departure from the approach of several of his predecessors, who had been based at Boeing's corporate headquarters in Chicago (and later Arlington, Virginia). The move was interpreted by industry observers as a signal that Ortberg intended to be closer to Boeing's factory floors and engineering teams.

First Year at Boeing

Ortberg's first months as Boeing CEO were immediately tested by a major labor dispute. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) launched a strike involving approximately 33,000 Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest in September 2024, halting production of the 737 MAX, 767, and 777 aircraft. The strike lasted several weeks and was one of the most significant challenges Ortberg faced in his early tenure. He was credited with helping to navigate the company through the work stoppage and ultimately reaching a resolution with the union.

Following the resolution of the strike, Ortberg focused on stabilizing and increasing production of the 737 MAX, Boeing's best-selling aircraft. Under his leadership, the company worked to increase the production rate while maintaining the improved quality standards that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulators were demanding. By mid-2025, analysts reported that Boeing had made progress in ramping up 737 MAX deliveries.

Ortberg's leadership approach was characterized by an emphasis on what The Seattle Times described as "doing the 'boring thing'" — focusing on operational fundamentals, production discipline, and quality processes rather than pursuing dramatic strategic shifts or headline-grabbing announcements. In his first in-depth interview as Boeing CEO, given to Aviation Week in May 2025, Ortberg discussed his strategy for the company's recovery, emphasizing manufacturing quality and supply chain stability.

On the defense side of the business, Boeing continued to face challenges. In early 2025, the company announced a $565 million charge on the KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker program, the first such charge on the program since 2024. The KC-46 had been a persistent source of cost overruns for Boeing.

By August 2025, one year into Ortberg's tenure, multiple assessments of his leadership were published by major financial and industry publications. Aviation Week described him as "Boeing's turnaround-in-chief," noting that he appeared to be "squelching the fires that made the company a burning platform." Business Insider reported that Boeing's share price had risen by approximately one-third since Ortberg took charge. Barron's noted that while progress had been made, significant work remained, particularly in fully restoring production rates and addressing the company's debt load.

CNBC reported that Ortberg had earned praise for his hands-on approach, with one assessment noting that "he's showing up" — a reference to his regular presence on factory floors and engagement with Boeing's production workforce, a departure from the more corporate-office-centric style of some predecessors. The Seattle Times reported that Ortberg had "earned high praise from aerospace analysts and airline executives" during his first year.

Compensation

In March 2025, Boeing disclosed that Ortberg received total compensation of approximately $18 million for his initial partial-year period as CEO, beginning in mid-2024.

Personal Life

Ortberg has two children. Prior to his appointment at Boeing, he was living in retirement in West Palm Beach, Florida, having relocated there after stepping down from Collins Aerospace. Upon accepting the Boeing CEO position, he moved to the Seattle metropolitan area to be closer to the company's commercial aircraft manufacturing operations.

His family history is rooted in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, area, where he grew up and spent the majority of his career at Rockwell Collins. A 2025 article in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids documented the community's interest in the career of the former Rockwell Collins chief following his appointment at Boeing.

Ortberg served as a company director at firms outside of his primary employer during portions of his career, as documented in corporate filings.

Recognition

Ortberg's first year as Boeing CEO drew substantial attention from the financial press and aerospace industry analysts. Multiple publications issued assessments of his leadership at the one-year mark in August 2025.

The Seattle Times reported that Ortberg had "earned flying colors" in his first year, with aerospace analysts and airline executives offering positive assessments of his performance in what the newspaper described as a "very difficult situation." Aviation Week characterized his approach as that of a "turnaround-in-chief," describing his progress in addressing the operational crises that had engulfed Boeing before his arrival.

Business Insider documented how Ortberg "dug Boeing out of a 'very deep hole,'" citing the stabilization of 737 MAX production and the approximately one-third increase in Boeing's share price during his first year. Barron's acknowledged the stock revival while noting that further work remained ahead. CNBC credited him with creating an upswing at Boeing, reporting that Wall Street analysts had become more optimistic about the company's trajectory.

In September 2025, Ortberg was scheduled to speak at the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference, one of the financial industry's premier aerospace and defense investor events, reflecting the investment community's interest in Boeing's recovery trajectory under his leadership.

In April 2025, Ortberg testified before the United States Senate, addressing lawmakers' questions about Boeing's operations, safety record, and recovery plans.

Legacy

As of mid-2025, Ortberg's tenure at Boeing remained in its early stages, but his impact on the company's direction had already become a subject of analysis within the aerospace industry and financial markets. His appointment represented a deliberate effort by Boeing's board to install a leader with operational aerospace experience at a company that had been criticized for allowing financial engineering and corporate management practices to take precedence over engineering excellence and manufacturing quality.

Ortberg's decision to base himself in Seattle, close to Boeing's manufacturing operations, was interpreted as a symbolic and practical break from the corporate culture that critics had argued contributed to Boeing's quality and safety problems. The move away from a distant corporate headquarters and toward the factory floor was consistent with Ortberg's reputation as an operationally focused executive, developed over decades at Rockwell Collins.

His leadership of Rockwell Collins through the UTC acquisition and his subsequent emergence from retirement to take on the Boeing challenge positioned Ortberg as a figure with a rare combination of industry experience and outsider perspective. He had spent his career in the aerospace supply chain but had not been part of Boeing's internal culture, giving him both credibility with the aerospace workforce and the distance necessary to challenge institutional practices.

The recovery in Boeing's stock price and production metrics during Ortberg's first year, while incomplete, represented measurable progress in stabilizing a company that had been in crisis. Whether the turnaround would prove durable and sufficient to restore Boeing to its former position as one of the world's premier aerospace manufacturers remained an open question as of 2025.