The Board of Directors of Airbus has selected Guillaume Faury as future Airbus CEO. Faury, 50, who currently serves as President Airbus Commercial Aircraft, will succeed Tom Enders, 59, who remains CEO until the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10th April 2019, when the appointment of Faury as executive member of the Board will be submitted to shareholders.

Leadership of the European group thus reverts to a Frenchman, seven years after Enders, a German, took over from Louis Gallois in May 2012. Enders' departure had been formally announced in December.

Enders commented: “Guillaume is an excellent choice. He has gained broad industrial and aeronautic experience over many years and in many roles both inside and outside Airbus. With his strong values and international mindset, Guillaume stands for the new generation of leaders that Airbus needs for the coming decade. He knows he can rely on me to facilitate a smooth transition.”

Guillaume Faury served in various senior management roles at Eurocopter from 1998 to 2008. Starting in Engineering, then Flight Test, he later became Executive Vice President for Commercial Programmes, then Executive Vice President for Research and Development.

In 2009, Faury joined the French carmaker Peugeot S.A., where he served as Executive Vice President for Research and Development as a Member of the Managing Board. In May 2013, Faury returned to Airbus as CEO of Airbus Helicopters and in early 2018 he took the helm of Airbus Commercial Aircraft.

Denis Ranque will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors until the end of his mandate in April 2020, as foreseen in the staggered board succession process, introduced at AGM 2016. At that time and after seven years as Chairman, Denis Ranque has requested to leave the Board to pursue other interests.