Boeing has appointed Don Ruhmann as the company’s new chief aerospace safety officer, effective immediately.
Ruhmann succeeds Mike Delaney, who recently announced his retirement after a nearly four-decade career with Boeing. Delaney will serve in an advisory role to assist the transition over the next several months.
In the role, Ruhmann will be responsible for strengthening Boeing’s safety culture and practices, furthering efforts to accelerate and mature the company's safety management system (SMS).
“Over the past several years, we’ve made important strides to strengthen our safety practices, safety culture and actions to implement SMS at Boeing,” said Kelly Ortberg, president and CEO of Boeing. “Ruhmann’s experience with airplane design, certification and strong relationships with global regulators makes him perfectly suited to lead and build on those efforts at Boeing and across the industry.”
Boeing created the chief aerospace safety officer role in 2021 to lead development of the company’s global aerospace safety program, which encompasses product & services safety, aerospace safety analytics and global aviation safety system.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that Boeing has lost its way and has lost the trust of the American people, while on a visit to the manufacturer's facility in Seattle. He also confirmed that a production cap on Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft will not be lifted.
Ruhmann was most recently vice president of airplane development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where he led design and certification work for the newest members of the 737 MAX family and the new 777-9 aircraft.
Ruhmann will report directly to Ortberg and join the company’s executive council.