Airbus Group yesterday named Allan McArtor to be the new head of its North American division effective March 1, succeeding Sean O’Keefe who is resigning due to ongoing medical reasons sustained in a plane crash in 2010.
McArtor is currently chairman of Airbus Americas, the division of Airbus that represents its commercial aircraft business in North and South America. When he becomes chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, Inc., which is the United States-based division of Europe’s Airbus Group, McArtor will also be a member of the Airbus Group Executive Committee.
Airbus said O’Keefe will remain with the company on special assignment to facilitate its security agreement with the Department of Defense as it transitions to a new group structure in the United States. Airbus reorganized its global operations at the start of 2014.
Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders said in a statement that for 13 years McArtor “has been a key member of the Airbus Americas senior leadership team and has served as its chairman during a period of significant growth and expansion.
McArtor joined Airbus in 2001 and previously served as head of the Federal Aviation Administration, founder and CEO of the former Legend Airlines and a senior member of the
Federal Express Company [FDX] leadership.
O’Keefe became CEO Airbus Group, Inc., the former EADS North America division, in 2009, adding the chairman role in 2011. Enders praised O’Keefe’s contributions to the company, “including leading the company during the [Air Force] tanker replacement competition, increasing our reputation with the U.S. government and expanding our market presence in North America.”