(Reuters) - Boeing Co <BA.N> said on Friday it was separating the roles of chairman and chief executive officer to allow CEO Dennis Muilenburg to focus full time on running the U.S. planemaker as it works to return its 737 MAX jet to service.
The planemaker said its decision was the latest of several actions by the board and the company's senior leadership to strengthen its governance and safety management processes.
"The board also plans in the near term to name a new director with deep safety experience and expertise to serve on the board and its newly established Aerospace Safety Committee," said independent lead Director David Calhoun, who will takeover as non-executive chairman.
Boeing has been struggling to put its 737 MAX jets back in the air after two fatal crashes led to the global grounding of its best-selling plane.
The planemaker secured its first converted order in months for one of its grounded 737 MAX planes, monthly company data revealed earlier this month, even as total deliveries had almost halved for the first nine months of 2019 from a year earlier.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
