Boeing is elevating Stephanie Pope to become its No. 2 executive, setting her up as the heir apparent to Chief Executive David Calhoun as the plane maker prepares for its next leadership transition.

Pope, who heads Boeing’s services arm, was promoted to chief operating officer and will start in the newly created role on Jan. 1, the company said Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the three-decade Boeing veteran beat out other top executives for the role.