Enders And Forgeard Co-Honchos -- Ending Bitter Dispute

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:

• Jean-Paul Gut (Chief Operating Officer for Marketing, International and Strategy)
• Hans Peter Ring (Chief Operating Officer for Finance)
• François Auque (EADS SPACE)
• Fabrice Bregier (EADS Helicopter Division)
• Ralph D. Crosby Jr. (EADS North America)
• Francisco Fernández Sáinz (EADS Military Transport Aircraft)
• Gustav Humbert (Airbus)
• Jussi Itavuori (Human Resources)
• Stefan Zoller (EADS Defence and Security Systems Division)

  

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 defence enterprises. EADS has already become the leader of the European aerospace and defence 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."

FMI: www.eads.com