Champion appointed head of engineering at Airbus

Charles Champion has been appointed head of engineering at Airbus, effective April 1, 2010, replacing Patrick Gavin, who will retire after many years of dedicated service. In this position, Champion will be a member of the Airbus executive committee.

Champion is currently executive vice president for customer services, a position he has held since April 2007. His replacement will be nominated shortly.

"I would like to thank Patrick for his dedication and commitment to Airbus, and especially for his leadership and vision in integrating our engineering capabilities" said Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO. "Charles will bring 30 years of experience in a wide variety of functions across the company to this key post. He's simply the best man for the job."

Champion began his professional career in 1980 with Aérospatiale as an engineer in aerodynamics. He held various positions in the Aircraft Division's Production Department before being in charge of the single-aisle aircraft Final Assembly Lines from 1988 to 1992.

In 1993, Champion was promoted to director of Airbus Programs at Aérospatiale's headquarters in Paris. He returned to Toulouse in 1995 as managing director of the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military transport project, now known as the A400M.

In 1998, he joined Airbus Industrie (now Airbus) as vice president of sales for Eastern and Southern Europe and the C.I.S (Commonwealth of Independent States), which put him in charge of Airbus' commercial activities for some 25 countries. From May 1999 until 2001, he held the position of product executive for Airbus' Single Aisle Program, before being appointed head of the A380 program in 2001.

Born in 1955 near Paris, France, he holds a master of science degree from Stanford University.