BA Boeing Co

   By Dave Sebastian 
 

Boeing Co. (BA) said it has appointed Niel Golightly as the company's senior vice president of communications, effective Jan. 1, amid a crisis caused by two fatal crashes and the grounding of its 737 MAX jetliner.

Mr. Golightly's appointment came after the ouster of Dennis Muilenburg as chief executive. Boeing's board fired Mr. Muilenburg during a conference call late Sunday following discussions over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Boeing official and a person close to the board.

Mr. Golightly will succeed Anne Toulouse, who had said she will retire in early 2020, the company said Monday.

The new communications chief will report to interim Chief Executive Greg Smith and, from Jan. 13, to new President and CEO David Calhoun, Boeing said.

Mr. Golightly has worked at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) as its global communications chief. He previously served various strategy and communications roles at Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS) and Ford Motor Co. (F).

Boeing's leadership took a reputational hit for the handling of the MAX crisis following the crashes that claimed 346 lives. The company has faced growing unrest from airlines losing money because of the flight ban, which the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators won't lift until they approve fixes to a flight-control system implicated in the crashes.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 23, 2019 13:49 ET (18:49 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.