Airbus top execs on the move

Two more heavyweight executives at Airbus are leaving, the company announced on Friday, headed by chief executive Tom Enders, who will not seek re-election when his term expires in 2019.

Chief operating officer and head of the main commercial aircraft division Fabrice Bregier will step down in February and will be succeeded by Guillaume Faury, currently chief executive of Airbus Helicopters.

Observers noted Bregier had long been seen as the natural heir to Enders, although there have been reports of tensions between the two. Plans to find a successor to Enders are under way, Airbus said.

The news follows the announcement earlier this month that Airbus’ chief salesman of 20 years, John Leahy, is also leaving the company on his retirement (BTN 4 December).

An Airbus statement on the departures of Enders and Bregier said the board had acted to secure an orderly succession at the company, which has long been the object of speculation about rivalries and abrupt changes at senior management level.

However, chairman Denis Ranque said: "We are confident we have taken the right decisions to ensure Airbus' long-term stability and future success and we fully support Tom Enders to lead Airbus through this generational handover." 

www.airbus.com

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