Airbus CEO Tom Enders has been tabbed to lead parent company EADS from June this year in a move meant to maintain the delicate Franco-German balance atop the European aerospace and defence giant.
Enders, a 53 year old German who has headed Airbus since 2007, will succeed Frenchman Louis Gallois. Airbus COO Fabrice Bregier will replace Enders as Airbus chief.
The reshuffle was flagged in 2007 when EADS scuttled seven years of dual Franco-German management in favour of a single CEO, at which time shareholders agreed to alternate the nationality of the CEO after five years.
Enders formerly ran EADS’s military business and served as co-CEO from June 2005 until 2007, when he stepped down to run Airbus as part of the new management agreement.
EADS this week also proposed former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet as a member of its board.
Formed in 2000 as a conglomeration of French, German and Spanish aerospace companies, EADS comprises Airbus, Eurocopter, Astrium and Cassidian.
