ARLINGTON, VA: Boeing SVP and chief communications officer Brian Besanceney is stepping down from his role, effective October 1.
Until a successor is named, Ann Schmidt, VP of corporate comms, will lead communications for the company, according to an internal memo Besanceney sent to staffers that was seen by PRWeek.
Besanceney was not available for comment.
“I will do my best to help ensure a smooth transition for the new leadership,” he said in the memo.
Besanceney has served in the CCO role since September 2022, when he replaced Ed Dandridge, who left the aerospace manufacturer that June.
Besanceney’s departure is set to follow the exit of Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who is scheduled to be replaced by Robert Ortberg, former CEO of supplier Rockwell Collins, on Wednesday.
Besanceney said in the memo that he and Calhoun had discussed the CEO transition and the role of communications in “the continued success of the company.”
“I wanted to share that [Calhoun] and I believe the CEO transition is also the right moment to close my chapter as Boeing’s chief communications officer and enable a new CCO to partner with the new CEO for the long term,” he said.
Besanceney is based in Orlando, Florida. Ortberg plans to be located in Seattle, where Boeing does most of its commercial jet manufacturing, even though the company is headquartered in Washington, DC, according to reports. Besanceney previously served as SVP and CCO at Walmart. He was also Walt Disney World’s SVP of public affairs, where he led media relations, internal comms and community relations for Walt Disney World Resort and managed government and industry relations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world. Previously, Besanceney held several positions in former President George W. Bush’s administration.
Boeing has endured a number of significant setbacks in recent years, including this year when it began facing scrutiny over the safety of the 737 Max model after a door plug blew open during an Alaska Airlines flight while it was 16,000 feet in the air, forcing an emergency landing. No one was seriously injured in the incident. Boeing has agreed to FAA demands to curb production of the 737 Max until the regulator is satisfied it has fixed its safety and quality issues. It also acknowledged that two 737 Max crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 that killed a total of 346 people were the result of a design flaw.
In September, Boeing may face a potential strike by about 36,000 hourly workers at its commercial airplane plants in Washington State.Boeing has not posted a profitable year since 2019. The company reported a net loss in Q2 of $1.4 billion, compared with a loss of $149 million during the year-earlier period. Revenue for the three months ended June 30 was down 15% to $16.9 billion.
