Deadlocked EADS Board Postpones Naming CEO
Wednesday May 11, 5:20 pm ET
Deadlocked EADS Board Postpones Appointment of New Head of Passenger Jet Unit Airbus
PARIS (AP) -- A Franco-German tussle over executive jobs thwarted the planned appointment Wednesday of two new joint chief executives for European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. after a six-hour board meeting ended in stalemate.
ADVERTISEMENT
EADS said its board postponed the appointments of the two new CEOs, Thomas Enders and Noel Forgeard, leaving the top jobs at the defense and aerospace group unfilled after the two outgoing CEOs stepped down on schedule, earlier in the day.
Joint Chairmen Manfred Bischoff and Arnaud Lagardere will stand in for the absent chief executives until their appointments are confirmed, EADS spokesman Rainer Ohler said by telephone.
The board also resolved to find a solution to the shareholder standoff by June 1, Ohler said.
The breakdown in what was supposed to be a seamless handover came after French shareholders -- the government and media group Lagardere SCA, which each own 15 percent -- pushed for Forgeard to remain in his current job as head of passenger jet maker Airbus until his successor was nominated. EADS owns a controlling stake in Airbus.
Lagardere said Tuesday that the company's statutes would allow Forgeard to keep both jobs, a day after French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said Forgeard should keep a role at Airbus.
But the other joint-chairman, Bischoff -- who represents 30 percent-shareholder DaimlerChrysler -- said he considers such an outcome unacceptable, in comments to German newspaper Handelsblatt.
"That's a solution I can rule out," Bischoff was quoted as saying in the daily's Thursday edition.
Bischoff suggested that Airbus' No. 2 executive, German Gustav Humbert, should act as interim CEO at the Toulouse, France-based passenger jet maker.
The EADS shareholders decided Wednesday to nominate a successor for Forgeard at Airbus at the same time as they confirm his appointment as joint-CEO alongside Enders, the outgoing head of the EADS defense division. Forgeard, meanwhile, remains head of Airbus.
EADS shares closed 1.3 percent lower at 22.07 euros ($28.41) before the board meeting ended.
Email Story
Set News Alert
Print Story
Sponsor Results
ING DIRECT Pays a Great Rate on Savings
Earn 3.00% annual percentage yield with no fees and no minimums and no need to change banks. Member FDIC. Open online in less than five minutes.
home.ingdirect.com
Wachovia Extra Free Checking
A free checking account with the works: free online banking with BillPay and a free check card with Visa Extras, a points-based rewards program. No direct deposit required.
www.wachovia.com
3.25% APY American Dream Savings Account
Check with them - save with us. No fees. No minimums. Open your account online. 24/7 access. FDIC insured. Emigrant Savings Bank, since 1850.
www.emigrant-direct.com
(What's This?)
Top Stories
· United Posts Loss, Seeks Contract Cuts - AP (2:34 am)
· Trade Gap Hits Lowest Level in Six Months - AP (3:31 am)
· Dow Closes Up 19 on Falling Oil Prices - AP (3:30 am)
· Disney 2Q Profits Up 30 Pct. on DVD Sales - AP (3:32 am)
More...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
· More AP
· Most-emailed articles
· Most-viewed articles
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
