George Xu as been appointed Airbus China CEO. Photo courtesy of Airbus
Succeeding Laurence Barron as chairman of Airbus China is Eric Chen, and George Xu as been appointed its CEO.
“It’s my privilege to have been working with Airbus for more than 20 years. As the Chairman of Airbus China, I will continue to support Airbus’ development in China,” said Chen. “We have a dynamic team here, and with the fresh blood like George joining our management team, I look forward to an even more promising future of Airbus China.”
Chen was previously the president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft China.
In Xu’s new role, he is responsible for all Airbus commercial aircraft activities and will lead the company’s helicopter, defense and space businesses in China.
“I feel honored to re-join Airbus China as its CEO. China has the largest Airbus fleet in the world and will continue as one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the next decades,” said Xu. “My predecessors and the Airbus China team have achieved great successes in China. I commit to keeping the momentum going and to continue working closely with our teams to achieve new successes. I am confident China will continue to play a key role in Airbus global strategy.”
Xu began working on the Airbus A320 Final Assembly Line program in China in 2005. In 2008, he was appointed deputy general manager of the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Tianjin, while continuing his role as director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Administrative Committee. He was also chairman of the board of the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line and, in parallel, VP of the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Administrative Committee in 2011 until 2014.