Muilenburg elected chairman of Boeing

Dennis A. Muilenburg has been elected chairman of Boeing Co., effective March 1, the company announced Monday.

Muilenburg succeeds Jim McNerney, Jr., who is stepping down from the board. Independent lead director Kenneth M. Duberstein continues in that role, the Chicago company said in a statement.

The 52-year-old Muilenburg succeeded McNerney as Boeing’s 10th chief executive and joined the board in July. At that time, McNerney, 66, continued in the chairman role and announced his intent to retire from the company later this month.

Muilenburg joined the company in 1985 as an engineering intern in Seattle. He earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering fromIowa State University and a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington.