Awards & Recognition
★Tony Jannus Award 2019 for Lifetime Achievement
★Aviation Week & Space Technology 2019 Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement (co-winner)
★European Manager of the Year 2014
★Aviation Week Person of the Year 2017
Notable Facts
→Former CEO of Airbus SE from 2012-2019, leading one of Europe's largest aerospace companies
→President of German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since 2019
→PhD in Political Science, Major in German Army Reserve, helicopter pilot
→Responsible for successful A320neo launch in 2010 which forced Boeing to launch 737 MAX
→Currently Chairman of KNDS (Franco-German defense manufacturer) since 2025
→Board member of multiple Fortune 500 companies including Linde, General Electric, Lufthansa
→Led major corporate transformation rebranding EADS to Airbus Group
→Member of UK Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group (2011-2015)
→Served on European Commission High-level Groups on Aviation and Defence Research