Barry Eccleston named CEO of Airbus North America

Barry Eccleston, 58, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Airbus North America Holdings, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Airbus SAS. In this position, Eccleston will oversee all efforts of Airbus in the United States and Canada, including sales and marketing, service and training. He will report directly to Airbus COO - Customers John Leahy. Mr Eccleston formally takes the post on August 1, 2005. His predecessor, former President and CEO Henri Courpron, earlier in July accepted a position on the Executive Committee of Airbus as Executive Vice President – Procurement at the company’s Toulouse, France headquarters.

Barry Eccleston joins Airbus from Honeywell's Engines, Systems and Services division, where he served as vice president and general manager of the Propulsion Systems Enterprise. He held that position for nearly two years, holding responsibility for the $1.4 billion business aviation, turboprop, regional fan, and military engines businesses. Prior to that position, Mr Eccleston served as Honeywell’s Vice President of Commercial Aerospace for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As such, he already has had a lot of contacts with Airbus.

"We are very pleased that Mr Eccleston is joining Airbus in North America. He is an insider who knows the aviation business well, be it on the industry front or our customers’ side," said Gustav Humbert, Airbus President and CEO, on the occasion of the appointment. "We are sure that he will bring to Airbus a broad range of experience that will enable him to consolidate and further expand on the successes achieved under Henri Courpron’s leadership", added John Leahy.

"Taking the reigns of Airbus North America will be a significant task, as we have built Airbus to a position of strength in the North American market," said Mr Eccleston. "I am fortunate to know many people in the Airbus family already, as well as many of our customers on this side of the pond. I relish the opportunity to represent the leading aircraft manufacturer in the world in this most important market."

Mr Eccleston's 36-year-career in aviation and aerospace began at Rolls-Royce where he started as a flight test engineer and held increasingly senior positions with the company for 25 years, culminating in his role as President and CEO of International Aero Engines, where Rolls-Royce is one of the major shareholders. In 1998, he joined Fairchild Aerospace Corporation, where he remained until 2002, when he departed the company as its Executive Vice President Business Development of Fairchild Dornier.

Mr Eccleston holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Loughborough University in England and completed the International Executive programme at the Institute of Management Development in Switzerland. He is also a private pilot and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Mr Eccleston is married and has two grown children.

Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE Systems.

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