After two years as Bombardier's chief executive, and amid concerns over the company's future, Paul Tellier has been replaced by executive chairman and former chief executive Laurent Beaudoin. The move came after turnaround specialist Tellier indicated his intent to leave next year.
Bombardier did not want to entrust decisions on long-term strategy to someone who would leave in the short term, says Beaudoin. This includes the decision, due in February, on whether to launch the CSeries airliner. Some analysts suggest Tellier's departure was the result of a board spilt over whether to proceed with the C$2.1 billion ($1.7 billion) programme.
Returning to the helm of the Canadian manufacturer after more than 10 years in the background, Beaudoin is joined in a new office of the president by the heads of Montreal, Quebec-based Bombardier's aerospace and transport businesses.
Beaudoin, a member of the Bombardier family that controls the company, will focus on the company's strategy while Aerospace division president Pierre Beaudoin and Transportation division president Andre Navarri focus on execution and profitability. The new office of the president will provide "a tight link between strategy building and strategy execution," he says.
The restructuring accomplished by Tellier, which included selling Bombardier Recreational Products division to restore the company's balance sheet, was a "critical first step", says Beaudoin. "The next step is to implement a strategic focus on shareholder value." The company faces a challenge as demand for 50-seat regional jets plummets (Flight International, 14-20 December).
"I have been through this before. When I signed on as chief executive in 1979, Bombardier was restructuring," says Beaudoin, who was made chairman in 1999. "I will focus on the challenge with the same intensity as I did for the 20 years I led the company."
GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
