Mauricio Botelho, president and chief executive of Embraer, did have something to celebrate last night when he was last night named the Aerospace Industry's Personality of the Year for his efforts in steering the Brazilian company to success in the midst of a global downturn.
Botelho accepted his award at a glittering ceremony at Paris's Pavillon d'Armenonville, attended by more than 500 top executives.
Problems
Despite the problems with the 170 revealed yesterday, over the past 15 months, Embraer has been one of the few shafts of light in a gloomy business sky. In a period when his competitors were having trouble filling their order books, Embraer managed to continue signing orders and pushing production.
Presenting the award Flight Group editor Kieran Daly said this position is due in no small measure to Botelho's leadership, entrepreneurial vision and focus on customer satisfaction.
The Flight International Publisher's Award was given to Sir Ralph Robins. Robins is credited with leading Rolls-Royce from a lowly position in the mid-1980s to its top-flight ranking today. He had the vision to see the benefits of developing the Trent family of engines and the strength to keep the multi-million-pound programme on track.
Source: Flight Daily News
