AIRBUS TO OVERHAUL TOP MANAGEMENT
Enders to step down as CEO when his term ends in 2019 while Bregier may leave as soon as February, say sources
LONDON/ PARIS
AIRBUS SE is preparing for a complete overhaul of its top management, with the two most senior executives readying their departure as the European planemaker grapples with corruption allegations.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Tom Enders plans to step down when his term ends in 2019, while chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier is also set to leave, as soon as February.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of the helicopters business, would take Bregier’s place at No. 2, becoming first in line to take over the top job when Enders retired, said a source.
Enders will still be with the company for “quite a while”, he said by email, declining to comment specifically on reports that he wouldn’t stand for a new term.
“Reports about my demise were premature!” he said, referring to articles in French newspapers this week.
The management changes come as Airbus grapples with corruption claims related to ongoing bribery investigations.
Enders, who turns 59 on December 21, has warned the probe may lead to “significant penalties” and is trying to convince investigators in France and the United Kingdom that Airbus is serious about cleaning house as it works to get past the controversy.
Airbus can’t afford to let the succession drag. As well as contending with the corruption claims, the company is pondering whether to scrap its flagship A380 superjumbo model amid sluggish demand.
Germany and France are major investors in the planemaker, and the top two jobs normally rotate between nationals of the two countries.
Airbus declined to comment on succession matters.
The company is due to hold its annual investor meeting in April after reporting full-year earnings on February 15, when it may provide an update on the bribery claims.
Bregier, who heads the commercial planes division, was told earlier this year that he wouldn’t get the top job and had been looking for other opportunities since, said sources.
The Frenchman had been the favourite to replace Enders, who is a German.
However, Bregier oversees one of the businesses that’s been caught up in the probes of alleged corruption related to the use of middlemen in aircraft sales.
Enders rose through the ranks at Airbus and was appointed chief after previously running the commercial planemaking unit — the usual springboard to the top job. His record as CEO has been mixed.
Airbus has already seen a partial overhaul of its senior management ranks.
Marwan Lahoud, its head of strategy, departed last year, while John Leahy, the head of sales and a fixture at the company for decades, announced his decision to retire a few weeks ago.
Airbus picked an external candidate, Eric Schulz from RollsRoyce Holdings Plc, to succeed Leahy, highlighting how the company is keen to inject new blood.