Airbus rolls out boardroom shake-up as technology and defence chiefs quit
Airbus this evening unveiled its biggest boardroom shake-up for two years as its technology and defence chiefs announced their departure.
Dirk Hoke, head of the company’s defence and space division, and chief technology officer Grazia Vittadini will both step down on 1 July, the company said in a statement. Both are understood to be leaving to pursue opportunities outside the aerospace group.
Hoke will be succeeded by chief Operating officer Michael Schoellhorn, while Sabine Klauke, head of engineering at Airbus, will replace Vittadini.
The departure of the two executives marks the largest boardroom overhaul since chief executive Guillaume Faury took the helm two years ago.
The French boss said the decision would lead to greater internal cohesion within the company.
“As we emerge from Covid-19 and look forward to the next phases in the development of our civil and military activities, we are making important changes to the leadership team,” Faury said in the statement.
The announcement follows a wide scale overhaul of Airbus’s top brass in the wake of a years-long corruption scandal.
Europe’s largest multinational was ordered to pay a record £3bn in penalties last year after admitting it had paid huge bribes on an “endemic” basis to land contracts around the world.
Airbus admitted five counts of failing to prevent bribery. In her judgment, Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, said: “The seriousness of the criminality in this case hardly needs to be spelled out. As is acknowledged on all sides, it was grave.”
The aviation firm said last year it would shed 15,000 jobs as a result of the pandemic, adding that its future was at stake as the coronavirus crisis continues to batter the airline industry.
The French firm handed over just 566 aircraft to customers this year — 40 per cent lower than its peak.
The engineer predicted operating profit of €2bn for 2021, and said that it would breakeven in terms of cash flow.
Airbus posted a 2020 operating loss of €510m, weighed by charges booked in previous quarters, notably for restructuring and the closure of the loss-making A380 program.