Boeing's new CEO made $18M after starting in mid-2024
08 Mar 2025

Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg received $18.4 million in total compensation for the five months he spent on the job in 2024.

About $16 million of Ortberg's pay came from equity-based incentives that will vest over three to four years, and were awarded as he joined Boeing amid a management shake-up and months of crisis.

Compensation breakdown and predecessor's package
Package details

Along with the equity-based incentives, Ortberg also received a salary of about $525,000 and a cash bonus of $1.3 million as part of his "new hire" package.

His predecessor Dave Calhoun didn't receive any cash severance when he officially left Boeing on March 1.

However, he earned a total compensation of $15 million last year and walked away with about $20.7 million in equity that will vest over the next 10 years.

Vision for Boeing and relocation to Seattle
Strategic shift

A company outsider who joined Boeing out of retirement, Ortberg has stressed the importance of returning the century-old planemaker to a focus on its engineering roots and bolstering quality in its factories.

He drove that point home by relocating to Seattle, the company's manufacturing hub, with Boeing picking up about $313,000 of the cost for the move.

Approach to employee bonuses and challenges faced
Leadership style

Ortberg has worked to instill a more open culture and put the manufacturing giant on better financial footing after years of losses.

He's also faced labor strife that shut down the company's factories for nearly two months, regulators who've capped 737 production until quality lapses are resolved, and disgruntled customers.

The new CEO has followed through on a plan to use the same measures to determine bonuses for employees company-wide, rather than setting individual goals for different business units.