The group, Airbus has decided to accelerate the process of succession of executive chairman ? The Reuters news agency announced on Friday 28 September, that the board of directors of the european company may appoint the successor of Tom Enders at the head of the group as of 13 November. Guillaume Faury, ex-president of Airbus Helicopters, powered for the last few months at the head of the division of commercial aviation to Airbus, one of the favourites to succeed Tom Enders. Questioned, the european airplane manufacturer, has “declined to comment” without, however, refutes the information. Chance of the calendar, Tom Enders, and Guillaume Faury were both present in China, this Friday, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their assembly plant for the A320 in Tianjin in the large suburb of Beijing.
According to the count initial set by Airbus, a board of directors was to be held before the end of the year to agree on the name of the new boss of the group. Tom Enders said that he should not woo a new mandate and that he will leave office in may 2019. In addition to Guillaume Faury, the name of Patrice Caine, CEO of Thales, has been named to occupy the chair of Tom Enders. However, the boss of the French electronics and defence was never officially declared candidate for the succession of the chairman of Airbus.
This acceleration of the maturity takes its source in the struggles that have shaken the european company during long months in 2017. To find a way out of this crisis of governance, a board of directors which was held in December 2017 and has been described at the time as “tense and closed doors” had led to the ouster of the ex-number two in the group, and Fabrice Brégier, who left his position in February, while Tom Enders was pushed toward the exit in may 2019.
War of the heads
To justify this redesign suddenly and, especially, the ouster of its number…
