Boeing names former Lockheed CFO as new finance chief

WASHINGTON — Jesus “Jay” Malave, Lockheed Martin’s chief financial officer, is departing the world’s largest defense contractor for a similar role with rival Boeing, according to a Monday corporate announcement.

Malave will take over as CFO at Boeing come Aug. 15, replacing Brian West, who has held that role for the last four years. West, in turn, will become a senior advisor to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.

“Jay will become CFO at an important time in helping build Boeing’s next chapter as we continue to make progress on our recovery and implement fundamental changes rooted in safety and quality,” Ortberg said in a statement. “He is a well-respected financial and business leader, and brings decades of experience developing people and teams across complex aerospace and manufacturing businesses.”

The CFO shakeup comes as Boeing has spent about nine months without a permanent chief executive for its defense division, after the departure of former Boeing defense chief Ted Colbert in September 2024. It remains unclear when that role will be filled.

According to the company, Malave will lead Boeing’s “financial strategy, reporting, long-range business planning, investor relations, treasury, controller and audit operations, as well as Enterprise Services, which includes global real estate and facilities.”

Malave’s career included long stints at United Technologies Corporation and its various subsidiaries, including engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, before becoming CFO of L3Harris in 2019. He then departed for Lockheed in 2022, and has been in that role since.

West took over as CFO at Boeing in August 2021, per his LinkedIn profile, making him a holdover from before Ortberg took over at Boeing with a mandate for major changes to the company.

“I want to personally thank Brian for his outstanding work navigating our recovery and positioning the company for the future,” Ortberg said in the statement. “These past few years have been some of the most consequential in Boeing’s history, and Brian successfully guided us through last year’s historic capital raise and ensured our team always had the resources to continue the critical work to strengthen safety and quality across our operations. I look forward to his continued counsel in his new role.”

Valerie Insinna contributed to this report.