French air navigation service DSNA’s chief, Florian Guillermet, has been chosen as the next leader of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Guillermet will succeed interim head Luc Tytgat, who took over from former executive director Patrick Ky in September.
EASA says that, following his selection, Guillermet will make a presentation to the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee in January, which will be followed by a notice of formal appointment on 15 February.
The date on which Guillermet will take over as executive director has yet to be fixed.
He was formerly with pan-European air navigation organisation Eurocontrol, and became executive director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking – which oversees research programmes for the Single European Sky initiative – in 2014.
“EASA will have an instrumental role in accompanying the transition to greener aviation while maintaining the sector’s strong safety record,” says Guillermet.
“I look forward to steering the agency through these challenges and to building a positive, multicultural working environment on a basis of trust and transparency.”
Guillermet’s selection from a shortlist of candidates was concluded by the EASA management board in Cologne on 13 December.
European Commission director general for mobility and transport Magda Kopczynska says Guillermet has an “impressive track record” and that the future of aviation safety in Europe is “in capable hands”.
