Airbus Helicopters appoints new head of industry

Airbus Helicopters has announced a shift in executive management – appointing Alain Flourens head of Industry for Airbus Helicopters, replacing Christian Cornille.

Flourens is currently the head of engineering and his new position will be made effective on 1 April 2019. The head of engineering role will be filled by Stefan Thomé who is currently the head of new business models and services at Airbus Defence and Space.

Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO said: “I would like to sincerely thank Christian Cornille for his outstanding contributions throughout his 30-year career within the Airbus family.

“The expertise of industrial topics that he developed in many management positions at Airbus, Aerolia, then Airbus Helicopters, has been essential to supporting the transformation of our industrial model and delivering new levels of quality and competitiveness. I wish him all the best in his professional and personal future.”

Mr Flourens transitioned to Airbus Helicopters from the company’s commercial business in February 2017. In this role, he worked as the head of the A380 programme, head of the single-aisle programme and as the head of the Airbus Centre for Excellence.

Stefan Thomé has almost two decades of experience in helicopter engineering, having worked previously at Airbus Helicopters before moving to the defence and space division. He has held multiple management positions at Airbus Helicopters prior to joining the Defence and Space business in 2018. At his previous time at Airbus Helicopters, Mr Thomé worked as the head of vehicle integration and doors engineering.