The board of directors of Airbus has selected Guillaume Faury as future chief executive officer of the company.

Faury, 50, who currently serves as president, Airbus Commercial Aircraft, will succeed Tom Enders, 59, who remains chief executive until the annual general meeting on April 10th, when the appointment of Faury as executive member of the board will be submitted to shareholders.

Enders said: “Guillaume is an excellent choice.

“He has gained broad industrial and aeronautic experience over many years and in many roles both inside and outside Airbus.

“With his strong values and international mindset, Guillaume stands for the new generation of leaders that Airbus needs for the coming decade.

“He knows he can rely on me to facilitate a smooth transition.”

Faury served in various senior management roles at Eurocopter from 1998 to 2008.

Starting in engineering, then flight test, he later became executive vice president for commercial programmes, then executive vice president for research and development.

Denis Ranque, chairman of Airbus, said: “We have diligently prepared for this succession, reaching a unanimous conclusion after a thorough examination of all potential candidates, internal and external.

“We are delighted to be appointing someone of Guillaume’s calibre to take the helm.

“His global outlook, extensive operational experience, strong personal values and straightforward leadership style make him the ideal candidate to rally Airbus teams in the delivery of value to customers, partners and shareholders going forward.

“The directors is very grateful to Tom Enders, who has served Airbus with much passion and success for almost two decades.”