Aerospace veteran Robert “Kelly” Ortberg will BoeingThe new CEO of was appointed Thursday with a single mission: to restore the reputation of an icon of the U.S. manufacturing industry.

This enormous goal requires thousands of daily decisions that will determine whether Boeing can regain the trust of regulators, airlines and the public; whether it can address persistent production deficiencies; whether it can deliver planes to its customers – large and small – on time and reliably; and whether the company can stop burning cash.

That cash burn is about $8 billion so far this year and rising. Meanwhile, Boeing shares are down about 37% this year since Wednesday.

Ortberg’s first task will be touring Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, where the best-selling but troubled 737 Max plane is built. He plans to talk to workers and review safety and quality plans. Similar visits are planned at other Boeing plants.

“I can’t tell you how proud and excited I am to be a member of the Boeing team,” he said in a message to employees on Thursday. “While we obviously have a lot of work ahead of us to restore trust, I am confident that together we will return the company to being the industry leader we all expect it to be.”

Analysts and industry insiders are cautiously optimistic, describing the 64-year-old Ortberg — an industry veteran of more than 30 years who spent years at the helm of trade and defense contractor Rockwell Collins after working his way up the ranks — as a good listener with a technical background (he has a degree in mechanical engineering). And, perhaps most importantly, a Boeing outsider.

“This man has a fantastic reputation and a lot of experience in the industry,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory. “He is known for listening and engaging people with their arguments.”

These capabilities will be critical to Boeing’s ability to stabilize its production and eliminate manufacturing defects.

Boeing’s top commercial aviation safety official said at a hearing before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) earlier this week that the company is working on a design improvement to ensure that a near-catastrophic door seal burnout it experienced earlier this year never happens again.

The hearing was part of the NTSB’s investigation into the bursting of a door stopper on a packed, months-old Boeing 737 Max 9 during takeoff from Oregon. Although no one was seriously injured in the accident, it plunged Boeing into crisis mode again just as the company was trying to put two fatal crashes of its best-selling 737 Max planes in 2018 and 2019 behind it.

Workers’ testimony at the NTSB hearing also revealed that there was production pressure and the planes were frequently repaired, which put a spotlight on Boeing’s factories.

“I will be transparent with you every step of the way and will keep you informed of progress and where we need to do things better,” Ortberg said in the memo. He promised to provide reports to staff and “keep you informed in a timely manner of what I see and hear on the ground from our teammates and our stakeholders.”

Boeing agreed last month to plead guilty to defrauding the U.S. government during the Max certification process, a deal that requires three years of monitoring by an independent corporate auditor.

But Ortberg will not only have to deal with problems in the commercial aircraft business, which include the delayed certification of the new 737 and 777 models, but also with problems in the defense division.

That division is grappling with problems with two 747s that are set to become the next Air Force One planes, but are years behind schedule. Meanwhile, the misfire of Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which launched in early June, has NASA debating whether to use SpaceX instead to bring back astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station.

In addition, the decision must be made as to whether a new aircraft should be brought onto the market, as Boeing is losing ground to its competitor Airbus.

The first 100 days of Ortberg’s tenure as CEO will be crucial, said Bank of America aerospace analyst Ron Epstein.

“The decisions made at the beginning of his tenure will impact the company for generations to come,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Ortberg and his team must ensure Boeing’s workforce is trained. Thousands of new workers are lining up in factories after more experienced employees received severance packages or were laid off during the pandemic. A union representing about 30,000 Boeing factory workers in Washington state and Oregon is demanding pay increases of more than 40 percent. Last month, members authorized a strike if no agreement is reached in September.

“The principles of safety and quality should be as important as production rates,” Jon Holden, local president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said in a statement last week. “This potential engagement with the new CEO could be an excellent opportunity for Boeing to demonstrate its commitment to its workforce and recognize the exceptional manufacturing skills and capabilities of the IAM’s skilled manufacturing members.”

Last week, in addition to another quarterly loss, Boeing announced that Ortberg would replace Dave Calhoun, who announced in March that he would retire at the end of the year.

This was part of a larger management restructuring following the doorpost disaster. Calhoun himself took over the crisis-ridden Boeing in early 2020, replacing Dennis Muilenburg, who had been fired for his handling of the two Max crashes.

While Boeing will still be based in Arlington, Virginia – where the company will move its headquarters from Chicago in 2022 – Ortberg will be based in the Seattle area, giving him a close look at the site where most of Boeing’s commercial aircraft production takes place.

“After speaking with our customers and industry partners leading up to today, I can tell you that without exception, they all want us to succeed,” Otberg said in his first-day address to employees. “In many cases, they NEED us to succeed. This is a great foundation on which we can build.”

For Ortberg and the company, it’s important to get off to a good start with customers and the hundreds of suppliers suffering from the pandemic-related demand crunch. Boeing’s relationships with its core customers have suffered recently, and the leadership change came after airline CEOs sought a meeting with the company’s board as flight delays mounted following the doorjamb failure.

Southwest Airlines is one of Boeing’s biggest customers and, like other airlines, has scaled back its growth plans because of delays in the delivery of new, more fuel-efficient Boeing jets. The airline’s CEO indicated that Ortberg still has a big task ahead of him.

“We look forward to working with Kelly Ortberg in his efforts to restore Boeing to its place as America’s leading aerospace company,” CEO Bob Jordan said in a written statement. “A strong Boeing is great for Southwest Airlines and great for our industry.”

— CNBC’s Michael Sheetz contributed to this article.