Ed Clark will immediately leave his role as vice president and general manager of both the 737 MAX program and the Renton, Wash., production facility where the planes are made.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing said on Wednesday it was replacing the head of its troubled 737 MAX program effective immediately, the first major executive departure since the Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout of a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9. Ed Clark, who had been with the planemaker for nearly 18 years, departed as Boeing has been dealing with its latest crisis and has vowed to bolster quality efforts. Katie Ringgold is replacing him as vice president and general manager of the 737 program, according to a memo seen by Reuters sent to staff by Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal.
Boeing announced Wednesday that the head of its 737 MAX program is departing the aviation giant less than two months after a major safety incident temporarily grounded 171 planes.Clark had ascended to the role in March 2021, shortly after a 20-month grounding of the MAX program following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.