Noel Forgeard (born the December 8th 1946 with the Ferté-Left-handed person in Seine-et-Marne) chaired April 1998 in June 2005 the European airframe manufacturer Airbus, then was of June 2005 at July 2006, with Thomas Enders, one of both copresident executives of EADS.

Biography

Noel Forgeard is resulting from a family of Breton sailors to the long course, Cap-hornier S, and of Médecin S.

It is graduate Polytechnic school.

It was initially chief engineer of the mines to the ministry for Industry, then adviser technical for the Civil aviation with the Ministère of Transport and adviser technical for the armament with the ministry for Defense. In 1981, it enters to Usinor where he was executive vice president of subsidiary companies. Noel Forgeard largely and very positively, by her strategic vision, contributed to the consolidation of the " activities; steels spéciaux" French iron and steel industry by accelerating the integration of these activities of the Usinor group and the Sacilor group in ASCOMETAL (yielded to Italians LUCCHINI later on).

Of 1986 with 1987, it is to advise for the industrial affairs near the Prime Minister Jacques Chirac.

Recruit then at Matra, it becomes about it in 1989 the president of the Espace activities and Defense. Starting from 1992, it occupies the general position of director of the Groupe Lagardere, then of executive president of Matra High technologies.

Airbus and EADS

Growth of Airbus

In 1998 he becomes managing director of the consortium Airbus, then the first chairman of the integrated company Airbus in July 2001. In 2003, Airbus reversed the domination of several decades of Boeing on the market of the Civil aviation, by selling for the first time more planes than its direct competitor. The industrial experts then recognize with his product range a technological quality and of innovation higher than that of its American competitor, whose certain models appeared exceeded.

A380

With the beginning of the year 2000, Forgeard makes the decision of launching Airbus in the production of the large transport aircraft, A3XX then A380 and which was in project study since ten years. In March 2003, after the death of Jean-Luc Lagardere, the new owner, his son Arnaud Lagardere confirms Forgeard at his station: Jean-Luc had entrusted to Christmas the keys future plane superjumbo for which it fought against winds and tides. It is thus with him that it belongs to conclude the adventure of has 380, one of most beautiful which is. With Forgeard, we will make fly has 380 and that wants to also say that Lagardere will not disengage a EADS. In any case, not in the next years. For the son and the father, Forgeard was thus the right man for the job.

The first flight of A380 is organized on April 27th, 2005 and starts the enthusiasm of the media and the public. A380 is then seen like a new conquest of the man, permitted by the pooling of European talents under the aegis of Airbus, whose president is then emphasized in the media. Until 2005, Airbus is maintained like the first world airframe manufacturer, consolidating even the superiority acquired in 2003, before the tendency is not reversed in 2006 with the difficulties of the group relating to the A380.

Boeing since is become again dominating with the business success of very innovating and very economic Boeing 787 Dreamliner - literally airliner of dream - without equivalent at Airbus. But in October 2007, Boeing announces in its turn important unforeseen delays for Dreamliner, which confirms unfortunately that they are current in industrial projects such vast and innovating.

In 2005, it is named copresident of EADS at the beginning of Philippe Camus. It is replaced in Airbus by the first German president of Airbus, Gustav Humbert. Forgeard would have touched a rough remuneration of 2,33 million euros in 2005, including/understanding annual fixed wages of 1,13 million euros and a no-claims bonus of 1,2 million.

Internal competitions

As a president d' Airbus, first subsidiary company of EADS and a first source of Profit (more than 90%) of the group, Forgeard would never really have accepted that Philippe Camus, his old adversary with the service of Jean-Luc Lagardere, becomes the copresident of EADS and thus his hierarchically superior at that time.

Candidate at the station of Philippe Camus to the co-presidency of EADS whereas it directed Airbus to Toulouse, Noel Forgeard had delegated to Philippe Delmas the care to promote his countryside near political personalities, as well as principal shareholders of the group: Lagardere groups, Daimler and the State French.

Once posts some, Forgeard will know another mode of internal tensions, mainly in connection with the Franco-German interbreeding of the executive presidency of EADS. The nomination of a German president to the head of Airbus, does not allow, contrary to the one objectives of measurement, to alleviate the climate. The German component with the direction of EADS will estimate that the responsibility for these tensions is ascribable to the French copresident from the denunciation of the system of the Co-presidency which this one carries out. According to him, this mode of direction harms the company.

In July 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the German chancelière Angela Merkel will estimate at their turn that such a Co-presidency is intolerable and French Louis Gallois will be named only with the orders of EADS.

Business Clearstream 2

In the Business Clearstream 2 occurred in 2004 in margin of the Business of the frigates of Taiwan, the office of Noel Forgeard with EADS was the subject of a searching the April 3rd 2006 like that of Jean-Louis Gergorin, member of the executive committee of EADS. Its implication in this business was isolated.

The dismissal of EADS in the storm

The collapse of the title EADS at the time of the day of June 13rd, 2006 is the consequence of the advertisement of important delays for the deliveries of A380.

Noel Forgeard is laid off in July 2006, just like Gustav Humbert. Thomas Enders remains in place and will take then the direction of Airbus. The industrial catastrophe which comes to close painfully and brutally a series without precedents of success for Airbus, and the charges of offense of initiate which weighs on Forgeard and its family justified for the decision makers as well German as French his departure without awaiting the result of the investigation in progress which could last of the months or the years. Did they feel guilty an injustice and an attack to the presumption of innocence, to then unanimously grant such an exorbitant dismissal indemnity to him?

Certain media specialized as well as the interested party allot the delays in the production of the Airbus A380 to the failures of the local direction of the factory located at Hamburg " who wanted to keep his méthodes" and with the heterogeneous computer tools of the group. Forgeard concedes that it does not have sufficiently " typed fist on the table in 2002".

He shows his German counterpart Thomas Enders to have tried “to cut down it”. It should be noted that neither Thomas Enders, nor his family, sold their titles before the fall of the courses. In fact, it seems that Enders did it in November 2005 (Süddeutsche Zeitung of October 4th, 2007). According to Parisian the " In fact, it was on the point of doing it the end of the window of March 2006 when Manfred Bischoff, which worked in the same building that him in Munich, informed it imminent advertisement of the sale of the shares of Daimler in EADS. "

Gustav Humbert is dislocated of her president's functions of Airbus, Thomas Enders remains copresident of the group EADS then becomes president of Airbus. The Airbus A380 undergoes a delay of marketing. The first apparatus is finally delivered to Singapore Airlines on October 15th, 2007 with one year of delay. The pilot of the company called to order it regards it as a " creation of Dieu". What a pity that it put this time 7 days instead of the 6 envisaged by the Genesis! In fact 7 years instead of the 6 programmed. The result does not remain about it less there.

• Vorsätzliche Zufälle , Suddeutsche.de 4 oktober 2007

Offense of initiate (business EADS)

Noel Forgeard is blamed, with the strategic director of the group Jean-Paul Gut, the owner of division Espace François Auque and Fabrice Brégier, former president of Eurocopter and current delegated general director of Airbus, like 1.200 other frameworks of EADS and Airbus, in a business of offenses of initiates (Affaire EADS) which is the subject of an investigation of the Autorité of the financial markets (MFA).

Noel Forgeard sold half of her stock-options EADS three months before the advertisement of the delays of the giant plane and withdrew from it an appreciation of 1,2 million euros. In same time, other leaders, 1.200 paid EADS, and his/her children made in the same way. That started an investigation of the MFA.

June 20th, 2006, the Association of the small active carriers of EADS deposited felt sorry for “offense of initiate” and “diffusion of false informations”. Realized three months before the fall of the course of the action, its appreciations on actions EADS are assembled to 1,2 million euros. This amount was made possible by the strong valorization of title EADS between the granting of the stock-options and their exercise. The title at this time there was very overestimated because the financial markets were unaware of the delays of a380 Airbus and the losses which would result from this.

With the copresident of EADS, other members of the group are aimed as well as the groups Daimler-Chrysler (German shareholder of EADS) and Lagardere (managed in mixed liability company and had with 7,16% by Arnaud Lagardère which inherited the participation of his/her father Jean-Luc Lagardere in the disappearance of this one in 2003), which announced each one at the end of March 2006 the transfer of 7,5% of the capital of EADS (approximately 2 billion euros).

In an interview given to France 2 the October 24th 2007, Noel Forgeard known as innocent of any offense of initiate and denounces a “phenomenon of dissimulation of delays in the factory of Hamburg” to explain its ignorance of the delays of Airbus at the time of the sale of its stocks options.

Stock-option S

Already scalded by recent appreciations scandalous, the media and the policies denounce the system of the Stock-option S, which, mixed with a Franco-German internal war, recently announced painful closing SOGERMA and with the Clearstream business which stirs up the higher spheres of the State and in which a framework of EADS was compromised, precipitates the fall of Noel Forgeard. The crisis with the head of EADS leads to a public debate as for high remunerations of the French large-owners and with the system of the Stock-option S for the leaders of large companies.

The former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur deposits in the tread a " bill for the development of the participation and the shareholding salarié" who will be adopted with the National Assembly on October 11th, 2006 and who comprises a part relating to the framing of the exercise of the Stock-option S. the board of directors of EADS will grant Noel Forgeard a dismissal indemnity of 8,4 million euros and will thus défraiera the electoral chronicle of the presidential ballot 2007.

The scandal of the allowance of Dismissal or " golden delicious-parachute"

In addition to its more been worth on its stock-options, Forgeard profited from severance pays of an amount of 8,4 million euros whereas the annual premium of paid Airbus had been fixed at 2,88 € on average before the strike movement. It was then restored, but a little late, with a little less than 1000 euros by the direction. That caused a scandal resounding and of strong reactions on behalf of all the candidates with the presidential election of 2007.

Ségolène Royal, it, will estimate that Airbus is in bankruptcy. It estimates that this " faillite" is ascribable with the ex copresident of EADS (2006) and of Airbus (1998-2005). François Holland will violently blame the right government for its participation in the board of directors having granted the compensations.

The president of the republic Nicolas Sarkozy decided to legislate for moraliser remuneration " with the mérite" managers of undertakings. Although the European aircraft industry left very weakened direction Noel Forgeard (of 1998 to 2005 pennies its presidency, Airbus exceeded Boeing for the first time of the history, and A380 it was one of the instigators and large craftsmen, is in spite of the preoccupations with times and their dramatic consequences, a formidable success of European engineering), this last is not concerned with laws which could not be retroactive.

In addition to the sincere and bilateral reforming will on shocking remunerations, on the right like on the left, one is also probably happy to save a debate on the problems of governorship of EADS, each one being in question (the left for the installation of the pact of shareholder, line for its management since 5 years).

April 19th, 2007, the Socialist party and the UDF officially required the resignation of the Minister for the economy Thierry Breton which, according to the information published in the magazine Challenges of April 18th, 2007 would have personally intervened in this business known as of the " parachute doré" , in particular by supporting the need for the payment of this 8,4 million euros envisaged by the contract of Forgeard, which if not could have been turned over against MFA]] for offense of initiate following his sale of stock options for an amount of 1,15 million euros. May 22nd, 2007, several news agencies ([[Agency France-Press|AFP]], [[Reuters]]) announced that to believe about it of the legal sources, an preliminary investigation of police force had been open at the end of April 2007 by [[the Parquet floor in French right|parquet floor]] of Paris about the allowances perceived by Noel Forgeard. ==== References ==== * '' the German copresident of EADS affirms that Paris imposed the allowances of Forgeard '', Le Monde, May 15th, 2007 * '' Noel Forgeard denies to have made an offense of initiate '', nouvelobs.com, May 31st, 2005 [http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/economie/entreprises/20070530.OBS9439/noel_forgeard_nie_avoircommis_un_delit_dinitie.html] ==Décorations and distinctions == Noel Forgeard is officer of [[Legion of honor]] and officer of [[the National order of the Merit|Order of Merit]], like '' Knight To order the off [[Order of the British Empire|Order off the British Worsens]] ''. It received in 2006 it [[Iznogoud price]] rewarding “a personality which tried to become caliph in the place of the caliph, was praised and lamentably failed in its company”, as before him [[Brice Lalonde]] ([[1993]]), [[Bernard-Henri Levy]] ([[1994]]), [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] ([[1999]]), [[Dominique Voynet]] ([[2000]]), [[Andre Santini]] ([[2003]]) or [[François Holland]] ([[2005]]). Its assessment is complex: there will remain the president of [[Airbus]] having brought the European airframe manufacturer to the level of [[Boeing]], but will have absorbed on its behalf the polemics related to the difficulties of [[Airbus]] after its departure for [[EADS]]. {{Aeronautical Gate}} {{DEFAULTSORT: Forgeard, Christmas}} [[Category: French personality of the business world]] [[Category: Business Clearstream 2]] [[Category: Business EADS|Forgeard, Christmas]] [[Category: Polytechnician]] [[Category: Officer of the Legion of Honor]] [[Category: Airbus]] [[Category: Personality of aeronautics]] [[Category: EADS]] [[Category: Birth in 1946]] [[Category: Engineer of the Body of the Mines]] [[of: Noel Forgeard]] [[in: Noel Forgeard