Christian Scherer confirmed as new CEO Airbus Commercial

Airbus has confirmed that Christian Scherer has been nominated as head of its Commercial Aircraft business division from January 1. The airframer announced the appointment today after reports on Reuters on Monday. It follows months of speculation that the European aerospace giant wishes to restructure its top management to free Guillaume Faury from his double role as group CEO and chief executive of the commercial business. While Reuters tipped current Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even for the role to lead Commercial Aircraft, Scherer had become the preferred candidate, Reuters reported. Scherer (61) is currently Chief Commercial Officer and ‘sales chief’ of the business unit, after taking over from Eric Schultz in 2018. He also heads Airbus International. In these roles, he has deep insight and knowledge of commercial aircraft programs and long-term strategy, which includes the transition to net-zero aircraft using hydrogen technology. But Scherer knows Airbus inside out, having started in 1984 as commercial contracts manager, vice president of contracts of Airbus North America, vice president Leasing Markets, Deputy Head of Commercial, Head of Strategy and Future Programs. In a pre-Dubai Airshow Global Market Forecast presentation in 2021, Scherer acknowledged that he had not always been right with the configuration of future aircraft. He mentioned the A330-200F freighter as an airplane that failed to make an impression on the market, in part due to getting the specifications wrong. Scherer also worked for Cassidian, the defense branch of Airbus-parent EADS before it was integrated with Airbus Defense & Space and Military Aircraft. For two years between 2016 and 2018, he worked for that other Toulouse-based airframer, ATR. Airbus Helicopters is the only business he hasn't been involved with. Christian Scherer (left), Indigo Partners' Bill Franke, and Guillaume Faury sign an order for 255 A320neo family aircraft for Wizz Air, Frontier, Volaris, and JetSMART at the 2021 Dubai Airshow. (Richard Schuurman) Governance model By splitting the Group and Commercial Aircraft business units again, Airbus is to adopt a governance model that was dropped in 2019. Until then, the Group was led by Tom Enders and Commercial by Faury, who had taken over from Fabrice Brégier in February 2018. When Enders left Airbus, not without the infamous bribery case casting a shadow over his reputation, Faury became Group CEO in April 2019. The Frenchman we re-appointed by the shareholders in 2022. The combined role of Faury has served Airbus well for a few years. But the pandemic and the subsequent troublesome recovery of the supply chain, the reorganization of the aerostructures business unit, the transformation to net-zero, plus challenges at Defense & Space proved that Faury’s plate was maybe a bit too full. The appointment of Duisburg-born but Toulouse-raised Scherer as CEO of Commercial will alleviate Faury while leaving the business in known and trusted hands until Scherer himself reaches retirement age. In a media statement on Tuesday, Faury said: "Since 2019, the leadership roles of Airbus and its Commercial Aircraft business have been combined, providing alignment and speed of execution during a period of multiple crises and change. Airbus has now put itself on a clear trajectory in line with its purpose of ‘Pioneering sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world’. Empowering Christian in the Commercial Aircraft CEO role will enable us to reinforce focus on the success of our Commercial Aircraft business while allowing me to dedicate my time to steering Airbus in a complex and fast-evolving global environment.” Faury added: “Christian and I have been working hand in hand over the last five years and we will continue to do so in this new configuration. I admire Christian’s business acumen and I’m happy to move forward with him to deliver on Airbus’ ambitions.” Christian Scherer remarked: “It is an honor and a thrill to be called upon to lead our Commercial Aircraft business at such a critical time for our industry. I’ll put my passion and that of Team Airbus at the service of our customers to meet our operational objectives as we work to consolidate our success, continuously improve, and prepare the future of our products and services. As we do so, we will work closely with our partners and suppliers worldwide on our common roadmap to decarbonize aviation.” Consistent production rate Until Scherer retires some five years from now, Scherer’s main job will be to make sure that Airbus can produce and deliver aircraft at a consistent monthly rate. Rate 75 per month in 2026 is the target for the A320neo family. Airbus has a healthy backlog of 8.024 aircraft, notably A321neo’s, but the supply chain will likely need another year before it has recovered from the Covid crisis. But as the woes of the engine makers confirm, that’s not in the hands of just Airbus and one man. Around 2027-2028, Scherer will have a major say about the launch of the first hydrogen airliner with entry into service around 2035, if Airbus sticks to its original ZEROe roadmap. But as Faury has indicated this summer, Airbus will also have to launch more conventional successors to the current generation neo-aircraft. That includes a stretched A220, of which Scherer has said numerous times that it isn’t a matter of if but when but for which he sees to priority for an immediate launch. But he will also have to watch Airbus’ market share in the widebody segment in its head-on fight with Boeing. Christian Scherer is said to dislike airshow press conferences and his presence can sometimes be interpreted as being grumpy, but he has a dry sense of humor that might have won him plenty of deals with potential customers. That will be a job for his successor. Keep an eye on Dutchman Wouter van Wersch, Executive Vice President, Head of Region and Sales Europe since September 2020 and ever-more present when sales have to be done.

No results