Niel Golightly, the global communications chief for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is leaving the company after a one-year stint to join troubled airplane manufacturing giant Boeing Co.
The move is effective on Jan. 1, Boeing said in a statement Monday. FCA plans to fill the job, but it was not immediately clear who would assume those duties.
Golightly, 61, presided over an FCA communications team that navigated an eventful year marked by the pending merger with France’s PSA Group and a merger deal with Renault that ultimately fell apart.
The past year also was marked by litigation, scandals and product developments. General Motors filed an unprecedented federal racketeering lawsuit against FCA in November, a few weeks before FCA signed the PSA merger agreement and during the company’s contract talks with the UAW.
FCA also was sued in late May by U.S. sales head Reid Bigland, who accused the automaker of withholding 90 percent of his pay after he cooperated with federal investigators probing years of incorrect sales reports.
The automaker launched the Jeep Gladiator midsize pickup this spring and announced in February that it was building another assembly plant within Detroit’s city limits to build a new three-row Jeep.
Prior to joining FCA last year, Golightly was vice president of external relations in the Americas for Shell Oil Co. Before that, he was global vice president of communications and sustainable development for Royal Dutch Shell.
From 1994 to 2006, he held a variety of posts at Ford Motor Co., including roles as director of sustainable business strategies and vice president of public affairs at Ford of Europe.
Prior to his corporate experience, Golightly served for 14 years in the U.S. Navy, including as a fighter pilot and as speechwriter to the secretary of the Navy and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Golightly said the move is a chance for him to return to his roots in aerospace and defense.
Golightly told Automotive News: “I was thrilled to be able to help FCA finalize the merger [memorandum of understanding] with PSA and will look forward to watching its bright future in Chicago.”
He will face a new challenge of helping Boeing navigate its public relations crisis caused by the 737 Max disaster, which claimed the lives of 346 people in two crashes.
Boeing on Monday fired CEO Dennis Muilenburg and said board Chairman David Calhoun would replace him, effective Jan. 13. CFO David Smith will be interim CEO until then. Golightly will report to Smith, then to Calhoun, Boeing said.