10th Apr 2019 10:19
AMSTERDAM (Alliance News) - Wednesday is set to mark the changing of the guard at Airbus, as chief executive Tom Enders steps down after almost seven years at the head of the European aircraft manufacturer.
Shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Amsterdam are expected to approve the appointment of Frenchman Guillaume Faury, 51, to succeed German national Enders.
Faury has headed the firm's commercial aircraft business since last year, and ran its helicopter business from 2013 to 2018.
He also has experience outside the company, having worked at French carmaker PSA, home of the Peugeot and Citroen brands, between 2009 and 2013.
The departure of Enders, 61, crowns a series of management changes after a turbulent few years at Airbus, which has been roiled by corruption probes in Britain, France and Germany into previous business practices.
Delays at engine suppliers have slowed deliveries of its new generations of passenger jets, and a series of technical problems with its A400m military transport plane has hit profits.
The change at the top is coupled with Dominik Asam taking over as chief financial officer from Harald Wilhelm. Michael Schoellhorn took over in February as chief operating officer for commercial aircraft.
One of Enders' last major decisions was probably one of his toughest: In February, he announced that the company would stop making its A380 superjumbo in 2021, only 14 years after it entered commercial service.
But he leaves the company with a healthy order book and balance sheet. It had a backlog of 7,357 jets on order at the end of March, and recorded a EUR3.1 billion profit for 2018.