Mr Muilenburg has been with the company for the past 30 years, and has served as vice chairman since 2013.

“Dennis will bring a rich combination of management skills, customer focus, business and engineering acumen, a can-do spirit and a will to win,” commented Mr McNerney. “With a deep appreciation of our past accomplishments and the energy and skill to drive those to come, he is well suited to lead our Boeing team into its second century.”

To ease the transition, Mr McNerney, 65, though past retirement age, will continue to work as a company employee until the end of February 2016. He will also continue as Board chairman.

On behalf of the company’s board of directors, Kenneth M. Duberstein, the company’s independent lead director, saluted both Mr Muilenburg and Mr McNerney: “We have high confidence in Dennis, who has distinguished his career by taking on tough challenges and delivering results. In a decade as CEO, Jim restored the vitality, focus and reputation of a storied American company, and we thank him for his extraordinary leadership and congratulate him on his success.”