Boeing has announced sweeping leadership changes as the American planemaker continues to struggle with safety issues.

The company's current president and CEO, Dave Calhoun, is stepping down at the end of 2024, though he will continue to lead Boeing through the year "to complete critical work underway to stabilize and position the company for the future," Boeing said.

Board Chair Larry Kellner has also informed the board that he does not intend to stand for re-election.

Boeing said with this departure, its board has elected Steve Mollenkopf to succeed Kellner as independent board chair where he will lead the board's process of selecting Boeing's next CEO.

In addition to these changes, the planemaker announced that Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), will retire from the company, and Stephanie Pope has been appointed to lead BCA, effective March 25, 2024.

"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve Boeing," said Calhoun in a letter to employees. "The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company. We will remain squarely focused on completing the work we have done together to return our company to stability after the extraordinary challenges of the past five years, with safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do."

Kellner has served on the Boeing Board for 13 years and as its chair since late 2019. 

Kellner said after over a decade on the board and several years as its chair, he has been considering the right time for a transition of leadership on the company's board.

"With Dave's decision to step down as CEO at the end of this year, now is the right time for a transition to my successor. Steve is the ideal next leader to take on the role of board chair, and it is important that the CEO selection process be led by a new chair who will stay at the helm as a partner to the new CEO," he added.

Meanwhile, Mollenkopf has served on the board of directors since 2020. He was previously CEO of Qualcomm.

Boeing said Pope has been its chief operating officer since January of this year.

Previously, she was president and chief executive officer of Boeing Global Services, where she was responsible for leading the company's aerospace services for commercial, government and aviation industry customers worldwide.