Airbus names new CFO after 5-month search

Dive Brief:

European aerospace company Airbus SE said it hired Covestro AG CFO Thomas Toepfer to become its new finance chief, effective Sept. 1.
The current CFO of Airbus, Dominik Asam, will leave on March 3, according to a statement on Wednesday. He is stepping down after nearly four years to assume the finance helm of software company SAP.
Xavier Tardy, executive vice-president of finance for Airbus Defence and Space, will ensure continuity during the interim period in addition to serving in his current role, the company said.

Dive Insight:

The announcement follows a recent Reuters report saying that Airbus — known for a history of in-fighting and open national rivalries for its top jobs — was struggling to name a new CFO ahead of Asam’s departure.

“We are very pleased to have Thomas joining Airbus as CFO at this important time for the Company,” Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in the company’s statement. He added that he looked forward to working with Toepfer on the company’s executive committee as it continues to ramp up production and secure its “long-term ambitions in a complex operating environment.”

An Airbus spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the Reuters story.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Airbus reported an overall profit of 4.25 billion euros ($4.55 billion) for 2022, up from 4.21 billion euros a year prior. The increase came despite inflation challenges and supply chain disruptions that slowed efforts to ramp up aircraft production, according to the Washington Post.

Toepfer, 50, has been Covestro’s CFO since April 2018 and has also held the title of labor director since January 2019. Before joining Covestro, a German provider of polyurethane and polycarbonate-based raw material, he was CFO of KION Group, which supplies materials handling and warehouse automation services.

Since early 2022, Toepfer has also been a member of the shareholder committee and supervisory board of CLAAS KGaA mbH, a global manufacturer of agricultural machinery.

Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1972, Toepfer holds a PhD in business administration from Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management.