Airbus incoming chief executive Guillaume Faury intends to maintain a business-as-usual management approach during the early part of his tenure, following the path laid down by current CEO Tom Enders.
"The first priority is to keep going and to ensure that what has been designed, what has been targeted, is something that we will deliver," says Faury, who is currently president of Airbus commercial aircraft.
"I am not the kind of person" who will rush to turn the company "90 degrees because I want to make my footprint", adds Faury. "We have a lot of experienced people… I am learning from them."
Airbus in October 2018 announced that Faury will succeed Enders as CEO in April.
Speaking to reporters at Airbus's manufacturing site in Mobile, Faury insists he will continue pursuing Enders' goal of making Airbus a more integrated company and expanding its international reach.
He declines to say when, or whether, he intends to name a successor to head the commercial aircraft unit.
"I believe we need to further integrate Airbus Group and Airbus commercial," he says. "The organisation and team should reflect that we want to go one step further [with] integration."
Enders led a broad restructuring of Airbus. He was CEO of Airbus corporate predecessor EADS in 2013 when that unit adopted the name Airbus Group.
Then in September 2017, Airbus Group merged with its commercial aircraft division, a process under which the company adopted the simpler name Airbus.
The restructurings have been aimed at reducing redundancies, improving efficiencies, simplifying governance and clarifying branding, Airbus has said.
Faury has been president of Airbus commercial aircraft since early 2018. He formerly was CEO of Airbus Helicopters predecessor Eurocopter.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
