Airbus has unexpectedly announced the departure of Marwan Lahoud - Head of International, Strategy and Public Affairs - in move ostensibly linked to the upcoming end of his mandate as a Member of the Group Executive Committee (GEC). Lahoud, 50, will leave the company effective end of February. Lahoud has been a Member of the GEC for ten years and served the company in different roles over 20 years.

Lahoud has been a key player at Airbus and its predecessor companies since the turn of the century. As Head of M&A at Aerospatiale Matra, he was closely involved in the creation of EADS in 1999/ 2000 and contributed to the integration of Airbus in 2001.

He successfully piloted MBDA for five years before taking over Strategy, Marketing and M&A which recently became International, Strategy and Public Affairs.

Lahoud commented: “With the creation of one single Airbus, we finally accomplished the ultimate merger. Now, it’s time for me to move on and I am now looking forward to embracing new challenges.”

No announcement has been made concerning Lahoud’s replacement.