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Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg buys a home in Seattle
Sep. 13, 2024 at 2:14 pm
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg bought an almost 100-year-old house in Seattle’s Broadmoor neighborhood earlier this week for $4.1 million. (Derrick Louie / Clarity Northwest Photography)
By
Alex Halverson
Seattle Times business reporter
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg closed on a house in Seattle’s Broadmoor neighborhood earlier this week, about a month after he stepped into the role and in the midst of a labor crisis.
When Boeing announced in July that Ortberg would take over from former CEO Dave Calhoun, it said he chose to move from his home in West Palm Beach, Fla., to Seattle rather than the company’s Virginia headquarters.
King County records show Ortberg made good on his commitment to living in Washington where Boeing had 66,792 employees as of 2023. The Boeing chief purchased a 3,780-square-foot house for $4.1 million on Monday, according to a real estate excise tax affidavit.
The four-bedroom home is 96 years old, according to property records. The previous owner is a former executive for investment firm Columbia Pacific Advisors who purchased it for $1.9 million in 2008. Broadmoor is a gated residential community with a golf course near the Washington Park Arboretum.
Ortberg living in Seattle could be a big sign toward rebuilding the troubled aircraft manufacturer’s relationship with the workforce and an indication that it might relocate its headquarters back to the Puget Sound region 23 years after it left, The Seattle Times reported in July.
The move comes amid additional troubles for Boeing this week, as the company’s Machinists union representing 33,000 members voted to reject a contract offer and strike.
International Association of Machinists District 751 President Jon Holden announced late Thursday that members had voted 94.6% to reject the contract and 96% voted to strike.
More on Boeing and the Machinists strike
The company’s machinists walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday and will stay out indefinitely. Workers interviewed by The Seattle Times said inadequate wage increases were the main reason they rejected the contract.
Boeing management was offering a 25% wage increase that some members felt was a deceiving number as they lost their annual bonuses in the contract, which could be worth around 4% each year.
Boeing CFO Brian West said Friday morning Ortberg is personally engaged in the effort to return to the table and “hammer out a deal.”
Ortberg, 64, was a unique choice for Boeing. The company’s board waived its mandatory retirement age of 65 for the man who was retired and living in Florida.
He retired from aerospace and defense conglomerate RTX in 2021 from a role that started as president and CEO of former Iowa-based avionics supplier Rockwell Collins in 2013. Five years into his tenure, the company integrated with United Technologies which merged with Raytheon to become RTX in 2020.
Boeing landed Ortberg with a potential compensation package of $22 million next year, most of it tied up in performance-based stock awards and bonuses, according to a July regulatory filing. For the remainder of 2024, his compensation is $17.25 million between a $1.25 million cash payment and performance-based stock awards valued at $16 million that vest over the next few years.
Alex Halverson: 206-652-6352 or ahalverson@seattletimes.com;
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