Outsider to be new finance chief
Airbus is close to naming an outsider to replace finance chief Harald Wilhelm after board moves to overhaul top management in response to a corruption probe hastened his surprise resignation in May.
Airbus is close to naming an outsider to replace finance chief Harald Wilhelm after board moves to overhaul top management in response to a corruption probe hastened his surprise resignation in May, people close to the matter said.
British and French authorities are investigating the use of middlemen in jetliner sales and the European planemaker says it is also supplying information to US authorities.
Wilhelm, 52, who is not due to leave Airbus until 2019, has not been accused of wrongdoing, two people familiar with the investigation said.
Indeed, he initiated the planemaker’s decision in 2014 to rip up a decades-old system of middlemen supporting jet sales, opening the door to British and French investigators.
Wilhelm’s departure is the most striking evidence yet of a board-driven clearout designed to help Airbus win more lenient judicial settlements by presenting a completely fresh face to anti-fraud agencies, four people familiar with the matter said.
Airbus declined to comment on management changes, while Wilhelm also declined to comment. Airbus has said it reported its own concerns over the past use of intermediaries to British authorities in 2016 and that it is co-operating with all pending investigations.
The Airbus board will nominate a new German finance chief from outside the group in coming weeks, reflecting a desire to still balance French and German executives, two of the people added.
Wilhelm said in May he would leave Airbus in 2019, dashing plans for a staggered succession after CEO Tom Enders steps down in April. Airbus said, at the time, he had decided to leave “in agreement with the board of directors”, without giving a reason.
It also praised the record of Wilhelm, who has spent 18 years in finance roles at Airbus. He had been expected to stay longer and had sought confirmation from the board over his future, two people familiar with the matter said.
However, only days before the announcement Wilhelm learned that the board wanted him to leave at the same time as Enders, so that Airbus could mark a clean break, they added.
“The board panicked. They handled this very badly,” a person familiar with the discussions said.
Asked about such criticism, a spokesman said neither Airbus nor its board had any comment.
As chief financial officer from 2012, Wilhelm automatically became co-chairman of a panel that ultimately approved payments to agents, five sources said. The German chief financial officer increasingly asked questions about the longstanding system of payments and after a series of audits, he halted them altogether in 2014.
Although he had no role in the handling or recruitment of agents or “business partners”, Wilhem’s position on the obscure company development and selection committee left him vulnerable to broader pressure for a clearout of managers from an increasingly skittish board, the sources said.
ONLY A COMPLETE MAKEOVER WOULD ALLOW AIRBUS TO WIN SETTLEMENTS SURROUNDING THE ANGLO-FRENCH INVESTIGATION
The upheaval of the investigations into Airbus has barely disturbed a record run in its share price to about €100, but Wilhelm’s exit dismayed some investors, who made their concerns known.
The board’s decision over Wilhelm mirrored growing signals that only a complete makeover would allow Airbus to win settlements surrounding the Anglo-French investigation.
In a 2017 landmark ruling that is still being digested, a British judge offered engine maker Rolls-Royce a settlement involving a fine rather than criminal charges for allegedly paying bribes, saying it was a “dramatically changed organisation” with a new board and new executive team.
Several sources say Wilhelm’s departure sowed fears of a broader “witch hunt” in hopes of winning such a deal, with staff at every level being interviewed by lawyers.