Dr. Thomas Toepfer will move from Convestro, a DAX40 company and a leading supplier of premium polymers, to join the team at Airbus on September 1 as Chief Financial Officer. From March 3, current Chief Financial Officer Dominik Asam will step down, and Xavier Tardy, CFO for the defense and space division, will hold the reigns in the interim until Toepfer can join the team.

Photo: Airbus

A gap between CFOs at Airbus

Asam is leaving the aircraft manufacturer Airbus to join the German software company SAP. However, he will present the company's full-year earnings this Thursday as expected to outline the planned production and delivery for this year amid global fears of recession, supply chain restraints, and labor shortages.

As noted by Reuters, the stop-gap approach with an interim CFO was decided under the watchful eye of Guillaume Faury as he looks to steady the team under supervision from founder nations. After years of national rivalries for executive jobs at Airbus, this seems to be a challenge of the past. A German has held the CFO role since the merger of French, German, and Spanish assets into EADs in 2000, which was absorbed into Airbus in 2014 and 2015.

Photo: Airbus

Two-thirds of the board must be European citizens.

Airbus's corporate rules stipulate that two-thirds of the board, and senior executive group, alongside the role of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, must be European Citizens, with an exception to adding British Citizens can also take part post-Brexit. Industry sources continue to note that the manufacturer is under pressure to ensure a fair balance of officials from its main founding countries of France and Germany, with additional presences within its quartet of nations, Spain and Britain. Commented by Reuters, those familiar with the recruitment process for Airbus executives noted that there had been pressure to keep the role in German hands.

Once Toepfer joins the team at Airbus, he will hold the role of Chief Financial Officer and join the Airbus Executive Committee.

Photo: Airbus

Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO's media release:

“We are very pleased to have Thomas joining Airbus as CFO at this important time for the Company. Thomas is a highly regarded CFO in the DAX40 and I am looking forward to working with him on the Airbus Executive Committee as we continue to ramp-up production and secure our long-term ambitions in a complex operating environment.

''I sincerely thank Dominik for everything he has brought to Airbus. Together with his team he helped the Company navigate the most severe crisis of its history, ensuring we are well positioned to manage the recovery and prepare our sustainable future. I wish Dominik all the best for his new challenges at SAP.”

Topfer, born in Hamburg in 1972, graduated with a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management in Koblenz.

Sources: Reuters