EADS North America · 1616 North Ft. Myer Drive · Suite 1600 · Arlington, VA 22209
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Amsterdam, June 25, 2005
Tom Enders (46) and Noël Forgeard (58) have been elected as Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of EADS with immediate effect for a five-year term. The EADS Board of Directors, in agreement with BAE Systems, has also appointed Gustav Humbert (55) as President and CEO of Airbus. Stefan Zoller (47) has been appointed as President and CEO of the EADS Defence and Security Systems Division.
The Board has also appointed the new Executive Committee for the Group, which will be led by the CEOs Enders and Forgeard:
The Board has dissolved the Aeronautics division and established Eurocopter as the new EADS Helicopter division. It will be led by Eurocopter CEO Fabrice Bregier.
The four EADS Executive Board Members – Enders, Forgeard, Gut and Ring – will represent EADS on the Airbus Shareholder Committee. Noël Forgeard has been appointed as Chairman of the Airbus Shareholder Committee, in agreement with BAE Systems.
EADS Chairmen Manfred Bischoff and Arnaud Lagardère said: ”We are pleased that following intense discussions, we can now present an excellent team and new structure for the future management of EADS. The appointments reflect the unique position of EADS as a multinational company as well as EADS’ strong position in the world market. Our key priority for the second term of EADS is to ensure the company builds on its strong profit performance, particularly through a renewed focus on enhancing the value of its core businesses. The new CEOs and Executive Committee have a mandate to vigorously pursue this strategy.”
EADS CEOs Enders and Forgeard commented: “We are proud to lead one of the world’s most successful aerospace and defense enterprises. EADS has already become the leader of the European aerospace and defense industry. Together, we share an absolute determination to take EADS forward to the next successful stage in its history. Our focus will be to continue the company’s strong growth trajectory and commitment to innovation, and to reinforce our focus on business performance.”
The Board of Directors has adapted responsibilities and reporting lines to the new management and organisational structure. It will continue to shape the Group’s mission and strategic priorities, which are implemented under the leadership of the EADS CEOs. The business operation lies within the responsibility of the EADS Executive Committee. On day-to-day matters Fabrice Bregier, Jean-Paul Gut and Stefan Zoller will report to Tom Enders. François Auque, Gustav Humbert and Hans-Peter Ring will report to Noël Forgeard. Ralph Crosby, Francisco Fernandez Sainz and Jussi Itävuori will report to both CEOs.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of € 31.8 billion and employed a workforce of about 110,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the international leader in missile systems. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.