Former Boeing chief strategy officer Marc Allen has succeeded John Langford as chief executive of Electra, a Virginia start-up developing a nine-passenger hybrid-electric passenger aircraft.
The leadership change is effective immediately, says Electra, which disclosed the shift on 29 August.
Langford founded Electra in 2020 and had been CEO and board chair ever since. While he is no longer CEO, Langford remains Electra’s chair, a position involving overseeing the company’s “long-term strategy and innovation”.
“Marc’s exceptional background in global business and strategic leadership makes him the ideal choice to guide Electra into its next phase of growth,” Langford says.
Allen, an attorney, held numerous positions at Boeing. Most recently, between October 2020 and the end of 2023, he had been Boeing’s chief strategy officer and senior vice-president of strategy and corporate development.
In that role Allen oversaw Boeing’s May 2023 acquisition of California-based autonomous air taxi developer Wisk Aero.
Earlier, between April 2019 and October 2020, Allen had been president of Boeing’s Embraer Partnership – a failed project by Boeing to acquire 80% of Embraer’s commercial aircraft division.
Boeing had announced its intention to acquire the business in 2018 but unexpectedly backed out in April 2020 amid the turmoil of the global 737 Max grounding. By that time, both companies had completed substantial and expensive work to prepare for the combination.
Allen had previously been president of Boeing International, president of Boeing Capital, president of Boeing’s China business and vice-president of its global law division.
“I am excited to join Electra’s first-rate team and help define the next level of air travel connectivity,” Allen says. “My passion has always been about building, coaching and inspiring high-performing teams. Electra is at the forefront of revolutionising air travel.”
The company is developing a hybrid-electric-powered short take-off and landing (eSTOL) aircraft it says will have 435nm (805km) of range, carry nine passengers, fly at 174kt (322km/h) and take-off from runways as short as 91m (300ft).
That take-off performance will enable the aircraft to operate from many small and under-used airports, the company says.
The aircraft will have a hybrid-electric propulsion system composed of a battery pack and turbo-generator, which will power wing-mounted motors. Those motors will turn props that will blow air directly over the aircraft’s wings and flaps – a so-called “blown-lift” design that should let the aircraft get airborne at speeds as slow as 30kt, Electra says.
The company in November 2023 started flight-testing its EL-2 Goldfinch demonstrator aircraft to evaluate the blown-lift design. It has since flown the aircraft at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. In May, it demonstrated the aircraft’s eSTOL capability.
Story updated on 29 August to clarify details about Electra’s EL-2 flight-test campaign.
