New Airbus boss

In the post John Leahy era Airbus is carving out its commercial aircraft business as a separate entity and has named sales chief Christian Scherer as the new unit’s CEO.  He was Leahy’s deputy from 2003.

An American, Leahy was famous for selling 351 Airbus 380s, plus many other lesser aircraft.  He, rather like the aircraft, is now retired from production.

The move reverses a decision under previous Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders who had been heading both the group and the commercial aircraft division until 2019. Enders’ successor Guillaume Faury has since held both positions since he took over in April 2019.

Airbus says that the split will allow Faury to focus more on overall strategy, the transformation to more sustainable flying, and dedicate more of his time to the other Airbus units.

Scherer, 61, is planned to take up his new position as CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft on 1 January 2024. The move is a complex exercise. Airbus will not only have to nominate a management team to lead the subsidiary – Scherer will also have to propose what group units will be integrated into the commercial aircraft division.

Scherer’s Airbus career spans decades. Having started as an intern in the contracts department in the early 1980s, he joined Airbus in 1984 as Commercial Contracts Manager. Between 1987 and 1994, Scherer was Vice President Contracts for Airbus North America before returning to Toulouse to take over as Vice President Leasing Markets.

In the early 2010s, Scherer was one of the driving forces behind the launch of the A320neo family, which has since turned into the manufacturer’s most successful aircraft programme.

www.airbus.com

Index/Home page
 

READERS' COMMENT

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 200 words maximum

No one has commented yet, why don't you start the ball rolling?