Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
Bombardier has appointed a new president at the Business Aircraft division of Bombardier Aerospace group as part of a series of management changes. Pierre Beaudoin, currently president of Bombardier's Recreational Products group, will take over from Robert Gillespie on 1 February. Though Beaudoin's new job is at divisional level, the unit is one of the largest in the Bombardier group.
Gillespie has been named president of Bombardier Capital group, the Canadian company's financing arm, following the promotion of president, Pierre Lortie, to president of the Bombardier Transportation group.
Gillespie is moving on after just over a year as head of Bombardier Business Aircraft, where he succeeded Mike Graff, who became head of Bombardier Aerospace.
Gillespie was the former president of the Bombardier Regional Aircraft division for 18 months, having previously steered the firm's entry into the business-jet fractional ownership market as president of Bombardier Business Jet Solutions, part of Business Aircraft.
Beaudoin, son of Bombardier chairman Laurent Beaudoin, led the recovery of Recreational Products, which two years ago was losing C$45 million ($29 million) a year. The group produces personal watercraft and snowmobiles.
• Canada is seeking the authority to impose up to C$344 million a year in trade sanctions against Brazil following the failure of negotiations over a long-running dispute over regional aircraft subsidies. Ottawa will make the application at a meeting of the World Trade Organisation dispute settlement body on 12 December, but will not make a decision on imposing sanctions until the new year.
The WTO has already ruled that Brazil's Proex programme, used by Embraer to finance regional jet exports, is an illegal subsidy. Canada says talks failed because changes to Proex planned by Brazil are "not sufficient", and still represents a subsidy of up to $1 million per aircraft.
Source: Flight International