Dennis A. Muilenburg (born 1964) is an American engineer, business executive and a former president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, a multinational aerospace and defense company. He was CEO from 2015 to 2019, when he was fired in the aftermath of two crashes of the

737 MAX The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation and incorporates more efficient CFM International LEAP engi ...

and its subsequent groundings. Muilenburg was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2018 for leadership in defense, space, security, and commercial aircraft.

Early life and education

Muilenburg grew up on a farm in Iowa. He graduated in 1982 from Sioux Center High School in

Sioux Center, Iowa Sioux Center is a city in Sioux County, Iowa. The population was 8,229 at the time of the 2020 census. Sioux Center is notable for its Dutch heritage, agribusiness, and as the location of Dordt University. Geography Sioux Center is located at ...

. He received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

, followed by a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Career

Muilenburg started work at Boeing as an intern in 1985. Muilenburg held numerous management and engineering positions on various Boeing programs, including the X-32 (Boeing's entry in the

Joint Strike Fighter Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlan ...

competition); Boeing's participation in the

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American Twinjet, twin-engine, Jet engine, jet-powered, Night fighter, all-weather, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Ta ...

fighter; the YAL-1 747 Airborne Laser; the High Speed Civil Transport; and the

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...

unmanned

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

. He was later vice president of the Boeing combat systems division and program manager for the Army

Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unpr ...

program. Muilenburg was president and chief executive officer of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, later renamed

Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division of Boeing, the Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The division builds military Military aircraft, airplanes, Military helicopter, rotorcraft, and Missile, missil ...

(BDS), from September 2009 to 2015. In December 2013, Muilenburg became the president of Boeing. In June 2015, Boeing announced that Muilenburg would succeed

James McNerney Walter James "Jim" McNerney Jr. (born August 22, 1949) is a business executive who was president and CEO of the Boeing Company from June 2005 to July 2015. McNerney was also chairman from June 2005 until March 1, 2016. McNerney oversaw developme ...

as CEO, who was stepping down after ten years in that role. He became CEO in July 2015. In February 2016, it was announced that Muilenburg would also succeed McNerney as Boeing's chairman. In March 2016, Muilenburg became the chairman of Boeing. In 2018, Muilenburg agreed to a fixed-price contract to deliver two customized 747 planes to the U.S. government which left Boeing with billions in losses. In March 2019, as a result of the

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. On 10 March 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 ai ...

crash and the

Lion Air Flight 610 Lion Air Flight 610 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, to Depati Amir Airport, Pangkal Pinang, in Indonesia. On 29 October 2018, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating the route, carrying ...

crash, which occurred five months prior to the Ethiopian crash, most airlines and countries began grounding the

Boeing 737 MAX 8 The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation and incorporates more efficient CFM International LEAP eng ...

due to safety concerns. On March 12, President Donald Trump spoke to Muilenburg and received assurances that the aircraft was safe. Trump grounded the 737 MAX family of planes on March 13. In October 2019, Boeing announced that the board had voted to separate the roles of chairman and CEO, both of which were held by Muilenburg.

David L. Calhoun David L. Calhoun (born April 18, 1957) is an American executive who was the president and chief executive of Boeing from January 2020 to August 7, 2024. In March 2024, Boeing announced that Calhoun would step down as chief executive by the end o ...

would take over as non-executive chairman, while Muilenburg continued as CEO and president. The company said this change would enable Muilenburg to focus full-time on running the company, while it worked to return the Boeing 737 MAX to service. In November 2019, Muilenburg confirmed that he would not be taking a bonus for the year, after being criticized for the two plane crashes, which killed a total of 346 people. In December 2019, Boeing announced that Muilenburg resigned as the CEO and board director, in the aftermath of the two crashes of 737 MAX aircraft. Although he forfeited stock worth $14.6m, Muilenburg was contractually entitled to receive $62.2m in stock and pension awards. This payment by Boeing attracted criticism. Michael Stumo who lost his daughter in the Ethiopian Airlines crash said, 'He was fired for poor performance, and he should be treated like any other production employee who gets fired for poor performance.' Zipporah Kuria lost her father Joseph and said, 'Nobody gets their benefits when they've screwed up this much. Muilenburg and my dad are, were, the same age. Two people, and one is a privileged person who gets away with having such a big part to play in the death of so many people, and the other who trusts a product and dies for it.' US Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote regarding the payment by Boeing, '346 people died. And yet, Dennis Muilenburg pressured regulators and put profits ahead of the safety of passengers, pilots, and flight attendants. He'll walk away with an additional $62.2 million. This is corruption, plain and simple.' He was succeeded as CEO and president by David L. Calhoun, effective January 2020. During the transition, CFO Greg Smith was interim CEO. Boeing's press release stated that, "The Board of Directors decided that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the Company moving forward as it works to repair relationships with regulators, customers, and all other stakeholders." In January 2020,

Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc., also known as Cat, is an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 73 on the ' ...

announced that Muilenburg had resigned from its board (which he joined in 2011), and stated in a regulatory filing that his resignation was not due to any disagreement with the company.

Memberships

Board memberships

;Current * Trustee,

The National WWII Museum The National WWII Museum, formerly known as The National D-Day Museum, is a military history museum located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and Magazine Street. The ...

* Chairman of the Board, Otto Aviation ;Previous * Board member,

US-China Business Council The US-China Business Council (USCBC) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization whose stated goal is promoting trade between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC). As of 2024, it comprises over 270 American companies that trade a ...

* Trustee,

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

* Trustee,

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

* Board member,

Board member A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, until he resigned on December 23, 2019, as President, CEO and board member in the aftermath of the 737 Max crashes *

Chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

, The Boeing Company * Vice-chairman of the board, The Boeing Company * Chairman of the board, Aerospace Industries Association *Board member,

Aerospace Industries Association The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) – originally the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce (1922-1945), then Aircraft Industries Association (1945-1960)

Other memberships

* Member,

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major U.S. companies. Unlike the United States Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, ...

* Member,

Association of the United States Army The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the professional association of the United States Army. Founded in 1950, it has 121 chapters worldwide. Membership is open to everyone, not ju ...

* Member, National Space Council Users Advisory Group * Member,

Personal life

Muilenburg cycles about 120 miles per week around the Chicago area, where Boeing was formerly headquartered. Muilenburg is married with two children. He is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Awards

* Fellow,

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

* Honorary Fellow,

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

* John W. Dixon Award (2017),

* CEO of the Year Award (2018),

Thurgood Marshall College Fund The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is a non-profit organization that supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 55 member-schools that include public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), medical school ...

* Dean's Award (2018), University of Washington College of Engineering * Person of the Year (2018),

Aviation Week ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network, a division of Informa. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aeros ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muilenburg, Dennis 1964 births Living people American chief executives of manufacturing companies Chairmen of Boeing Boeing people Iowa State University alumni University of Washington College of Engineering alumni People from Orange City, Iowa Washington University in St. Louis trustees