WASHINGTON — Dennis Muilenburg will become CEO of Boeing on July 1, the American airplane manufacturer announced Tuesday.

Muilenburg, 51, who has served as Boeing's president and COO since December 2013, replaces outgoing CEO W. James (Jim) McNerney, Jr. McNerney, who has spent the last decade as Boeing's CEO, will remain chairman of the board.

Muilenburg will also join the company's board of directors. Tuesday's announcement was not unexpected, as Muilenburg had been widely seen as the heir apparent since he became COO in 2013.

John Foxx, who served in the U.S. Marines, is now fighting for the People's Protection Units, or YPC, a militia party aligned with the socialist political party in Syrian Kurdistan and is waging war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. (Photo courtesy of John Foxx)

"The opportunity to lead the people of Boeing in service to our commercial and government customers is a tremendous honor and responsibility," said Muilenburg in a prepared statement. "Our company is financially strong and well positioned in our markets. As we continue to drive the benefits of integrating our enterprise skills, capabilities and experience – what we call operating as 'One Boeing' – we will find new and better ways to engage and inspire employees, deliver innovation that drives customer success, and produce results to fuel future growth and prosperity for all our stakeholders."

"Dennis is an extremely capable, experienced and respected leader with an immense passion for our company, our people, and our products and services," added McNerney. "As CEO, Dennis will bring a rich combination of management skills, customer focus, business and engineering acumen, a can-do spirit and the will to win. 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 very talented Boeing team into its second century."

Along with Boeing Commercial Airplanes Ppresident and CEO Raymond L. Conner, Muilenburg had served as vice chairman of Boeing. Conner will now become Boeing's only vice chairman.

McNerney, 65, became Boeing's president, CEO and board chairman in 2005.

Previously, Muilenburg served as president and CEO of Boeing Defense Space & Security and as president of the unit's Global Services & Support business. He also led Boeing's Combat Systems division. He joined the company in 1985 as an intern.

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