Well-known and prominent among the French in-house legal community, John Harrison is an individual fully merits recognition. He has been general counsel for Airbus and member of the Group Executive Committee since mid-2015, combining the jobs of general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary.

He has served Airbus for many years, having taken on a succession of senior roles with the company – including as general counsel of the then EADS Defence and Security division of the company – in a previous decade-long employment period lasting from 1997 until 2007. He started his career as an aircraft finance lawyer at Clifford Chance in their London, New York and Paris offices. After his first tenure at Airbus/EADS, another highly successful in-house role followed as group general counsel and member of the Group Executive Committee at project management powerhouse Technip FMC, where Harrison again showcased his impressive skillset. He successfully negotiated a FCPA settlement with the US Department of Justice in 2010.

Now in charge of a global legal team of approximately 350 individuals at Airbus, Harrison has not been daunted by the formidable challenges inherent in taking on such an important role for one of the companies that makes up the global duopoly on the construction of large aircrafts. Innovation and evolution is key, and Harrison’s tenure has seen a number of major milestones by the company.

As well as a number of eye-catching transactions, his time with Airbus has seen a massive expansion of the company’s flagship A350 airliner program, including the certification and entry into service of the A350-1000, the largest member of the A350 family, with launch customer Qatar Airlines in February 2018. On top of this, the company achieved what was regarded in almost all quarters as a veritable coup by securing the acquisition of Bombardier‘s C-Series regional jet programme.