TOM ENDERS

 
Thomas "Tom" Enders is a German business executive. He served as the chief executive of Airbus.

Enders served as Chairman of BDLI, the German aerospace industry association, from 2005 to 2012. He also served as the chairman of Carl Zeiss Optronics prior to Cassidian acquiring the optronics division from Carl Zeiss in 2012.

As CEO of the commercial aircraft division, he is responsible for the A320neo launch in 2010, a massive sales success that forced Boeing to launch the 737 MAX. As the Airbus CEO since 2012, he pursued a failed merger with BAE Systems, merged the group with the commercial aircraft division and took control of the CSeries, pending regulatory review. On 15 December 2017, the Airbus board confirmed Enders will not stay beyond April 2019 amid corruption allegations in sales campaigns. He was named for 2017 Aviation Week’s Person of the Year, for having reshaped Airbus and altered the aircraft industry’s competitive landscape.