Team size: approx. 500

Can you tell us a little about your significant accomplishments over the last few years, as a team or by yourself?

Our significant achievements include entering an unprecedented global settlement with the French Parquet National Financier, the UK Serious Fraud Office and The United States Departments of Justice and State regarding allegations of corruption in 2020. We have also continued to beef up the compliance organisation and work constructively with customers (airlines) and suppliers over the past two years, especially when hit by the COVID-19 crisis, during which passenger traffic dropped as low 90% at its peak.

Just when travel restrictions eased throughout the world, we reacted swiftly this year when the Ukraine war led to a major international geopolitical crisis and a flurry of international sanctions, with the mobilisation of our sanctions and export control teams.

John Harrison has been supported by some of the key members of the legal and compliance executives team including Edouard Eltvedt, newly promoted to head of corporate legal affairs, Ray Bonci, chief compliance officer, and Magali Collet, head of sales, procurement and finance legal affairs.

Have any recent political, economic or regulatory changes impacted your work or company? How are you dealing with this?

In addition to the above, the legal team was heavily involved in mitigating the impact of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (Airbus aircraft wings are manufactured in the UK).

The legal team supported a deal reached in 2021 between the European Union and The US to end a 17-year WTO dispute relating to support to Airbus and Boeing.

We deal with such matters through both dedicated teams such as litigation teams, regulatory teams but also through agile transverse temporary task forces to tackle matters such as Brexit or the Ukraine crisis, strengthening teamwork and reactivity.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected your company and the team’s priorities?

Airbus is the first plane manufacturer to have disclosed emissions resulting from customers’ use of its products (essentially aircraft flown by airlines) (“scope 3” emissions) and has ambitious targets to develop a hydrogen propulsion aircraft by 2035 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The legal and compliance team is driven by Airbus’ purpose which is to “pioneer sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world.”

All teams are mobilised to support a more sustainable world, be it the procurement legal teams who support sustainable aviation fuel projects, the IP/IT teams who support hydrogen projects, the environment teams who support substances traceability, the compliance teams who support human rights initiatives, the litigation teams who help anticipate tomorrow’s judicial risks and the corporate teams who support how we are addressing those matters from a governance standpoint and with investors.

How have you harnessed technologies to drive output or efficiency?

The COVID crisis has accelerated the use of technologies. Centralised e-billing system for the use of law firms allows us to track legal expenses and manage our budget in real time. A dedicated legal entities information management system allows us to follow the corporate life of all our legal entities, secured video meeting systems allow us to discuss sensitive legal and compliance topics online, and electronic signature allows us to sign our agreements in a legally binding way. We also have an online legal academy with webinars on hot legal and compliance topics.