Francois Auque, formerly CEO of Airbus Group’s defense and space business in France and executive vice president of space systems, has been named head of the aerospace company’s venture investment activities in Europe.Airbus also appointed Thomas d’Halluin, formerly chief operating officer of Airbus Ventures, to lead the firm’s venture investment efforts in the U.S., the company said Thursday.
Prior to Airbus, Auque served as CEO of Astrium and chief financial officer of Aerospatiale-Matra, which is one of the three founding firms of EADS.
He also worked at the French government’s audit agency – Cour des Comptes – and the United Nations Board of Auditors.
D’Halluin served as head of CFO office at Airbus before his appointment as Airbus Ventures’ COO.
His previous roles at the company include head of general procurement, supply chain chief and contractual logistics manager.
The company also added several employees to Airbus Ventures’ teams in Europe and North America, such as Maryanna Saenko, Anabelle Oliveira and Matthieu Repellin.
Silicon Valley-based Saenko served as head of autonomous systems group at Lux Research, while Paris-based Oliveira is a staff member of Airbus’ defense and space business.
Repellin, who is also based in Paris, is a 13-year semiconductor industry veteran.
