Airbus announced on Tuesday that Dirk Hoke, recently CEO of the Large Drives business unit of Siemens AG, will succeed Bernhard Gerwert as CEO of Airbus Defense and Space (DS).
“Bernhard Gerwert intends to retire mid-2016, a plan he discussed with me already more than two years ago and which I have accepted,” Tom Enders, Airbus Group CEO, said in a statement.
“Bernhard has been working in the aerospace industry for 36 years throughout which he excelled in many positions, culminating in his chief executive role at Airbus DS since 2013. Under his leadership, Defence and Space were merged and successfully restructured, with a clear focus on core business, Military Aircraft and Space,” Enders said.
Hoke is set to become the deputy to Gerwert on Jan. 1, 2016. From then until March 2016, Hoke will familiarize himself with Airbus Group and the defense and space business unit in particular, the company said. Gerwert will continue his post as Airbus DS CEO during this period.
Starting April 1, 2016 Hoke is set to become CEO of Airbus DS and take over the operational lead. He will also become a member of the Group Executive Committee, Airbus said. Gerwert will then act as a Senior Adviser to Hoke and Enders until at least June 2016.
“I am pleased that we found an excellent successor to Bernhard in Dirk Hoke; a man with a very remarkable track record of building and growing businesses throughout four continents; a man with strong experience in high-tech industries, engineering and project management, value-added services and digitalisation. In short, a manager well equipped for a world and business environment that is ever more accelerating in various dimensions,” Enders added.
Hoke started his professional career in the automotive industry at Renault in Paris, France in 1994. In 1996, he joined Siemens AG, holding various international management posts for the past 18 years. Most of Hoke’s focus at Siemens was on transportation systems, particularly making Siemens the largest foreign railway supplier in China, Airbus said.