Tom Williams New Executive Vice President Procurement - Iain Gray Appointed Managing

Tom Williams has been appointed Executive Vice President Procurement with effect of January 2004 in replacement of Ray Wilson, who is retiring. In his new role, Mr Williams will also be a member of the Airbus Executive Committee. Until the beginning of this year, Mr Williams was Managing Director and General Manager of Airbus UK – a position that is now being taken over by Iain Gray.

Born in 1952, Tom Williams started his professional career in 1972 with Rolls-Royce and went on to carry out increasingly senior roles in a number of UK manufacturing companies. He joined British Aerospace (now merged with Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems) in 1997 as Site Director and General Manager at the Prestwick site of the company’s Aerostructures division. Two years later he was appointed Operations Director – Internal Supply, within the company’s Military Aircraft and Aerostructures division. Most recently, Tom Williams became Managing Director and General Manager of Airbus UK on 1 st November 2000.

Tom Williams gained an HNC in Production Engineering during his apprenticeship and an MBA from Glasgow University in 1988. Married with one daughter, Mr Williams is a keen football supporter and occasional golfer.

Born in 1957, Iain Gray joined British Aerospace at Filton near Bristol in 1979 having gained an engineering science honours degree from Aberdeen University. He has worked in a variety of roles on different Airbus programmes throughout his career; since 1997 as Director Future Programmes with additional responsibility for A3XX (now the A380 programme). Iain Gray was appointed Director Strategy and External Affairs for BAE Systems Airbus in 1999 and Engineering Director in 2000. Following the creation of Airbus as a single company he was appointed Senior Vice President Wing Engineering Integration Centre for Airbus.

In 1989, Mr Gray gained a masters degree in aerospace engineering at Southampton University and in the early nineties, he completed a diploma in engineering management through the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Married with four children, Iain Gray’s interests include football, walking, music and collecting aeronautical memorabilia.

A leading aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive product line on the market, Airbus is a global company with design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK and Spain as well as subsidiaries in the U.S., China and Japan. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE SYSTEMS.


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