Berlin Aviation Summit 2026

#BAS26

Berlin Aviation Summit 2026

Participation

A Selection of This Year’s Speakers

Guillaume Faury was appointed Airbus Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in April 2019 and re-appointed in 2025. Guillaume leads the Company’s Executive Committee. He was previously President of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business, a role he had held since February 2018.

Additionally, Guillaume is a member of the board of directors of AXA SA (since April 2021). He served as President of the Groupement des Industries Françaises de l’Aéronautique et du Spatial (GIFAS), the French aerospace industries association, until July 2025 and served as President of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) from June 2023 to June 2025.

Prior to this, Guillaume was Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters (2013-2018), where his achievements included restructuring its manufacturing system and introducing new technologies.

Before that, he enjoyed a four-year spell in the car industry at Peugeot (2009-2013), the French automotive manufacturer, rising to become the Executive Vice President for Research and Development and a member of the company’s management board. He presided over significant advances in Peugeot’s lower-emissions hybrid-engine technology and the overhaul of the company’s product range, among other accomplishments.

Between 1998 and 2008, he held various leadership positions in engineering, programmes and flight testing in Airbus’ helicopter business, which at the time operated under the name of Eurocopter. He became Executive Vice President for Programmes and a member of the Eurocopter Executive Committee, before being appointed as Executive Director for Research and Development.

Guillaume began his career in 1992 as a flight-test engineer for the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter in the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French government agency responsible for the development and purchase of defence systems for the French armed forces.

He graduated from the École polytechnique in Paris in 1990 and, subsequently, from the École nationale supérieure de l’aéronautique et de l’espace in Toulouse.

Guillaume’s love of flying and aviation dates back to his childhood. He is a qualified light-aircraft pilot and helicopter flight-test engineer with 1,300 hours of flying experience. He was born in 1968 in Cherbourg, Normandy, and is married with three children.

Executive Biography of Dr. Brendan Nelson AO

Dr. Brendan Nelson AO was appointed senior vice president of The Boeing Company and president of Boeing Global effective Jan. 12, 2023. He is a member of the company’s Executive Council.

Nelson is responsible for the company’s global strategy and corporate operations outside the United States, overseeing 20 regional offices in key global markets. His responsibilities include developing the company’s growth and productivity initiatives outside the U.S., forming new business and industrial partnerships, overseeing international affairs, enhancing Boeing’s local presence and providing global functional support.

Nelson joined Boeing in February 2020 and was president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific. He was the senior company leader in the Oceania region as well as chairman of the board for Boeing Australia Holdings. In this role, Nelson coordinated all Boeing activities, led government relations and directed the implementation of Boeing’s strategy to expand its local presence and grow the business. He con-currently served as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Australia and chairman of the council of the Australian War Memorial.

Prior to joining Boeing, Nelson served as director of the Australian War Memorial for seven years, prior to which he was the Australian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO from 2010 to 2012. From 1996 until 2009, he was a member of the Australian parliament, serving also as Minister for Education, Science and Training (2001-2006), following which he was appointed Australian Minister for Defence in 2006 when troops were deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. He also oversaw major Defence acquisitions, including ships, helicopters and fighter jets. He was elected leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and federal Opposition from 2007 until 2008.

A physician by training, earlier in his career Nelson was elected National President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), becoming the youngest person ever to hold this position and was awarded the AMA’s highest honour, the Gold Medal for “Distinguished Service to Medicine and Humanity” in 1995. In recognition of his commitment to public health, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Nelson was also appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in January 2016 for his services to the community, the parliament of Australia, diplomacy and cultural leadership.

Nelson has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Flinders University, South Australia. He is the recipient of three honorary doctorates from the Flinders University of South Australia (2011); the Australian National University (2017) and the University of South Australia (2019). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (2017); honorary life member of the Returned and Services League of Australia (2018); honorary Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing (2021); Rotary Paul Harris Fellow (2001) and Fellow of the Australian War Memorial (2021). He is also an honorary citizen of the Belgian city of Ieper/Ypres (2018) and was appointed Commander of the Order of the Crown, Belgium (2021) for his service to the Belgian people.

Dr Nelson’s authored his biography and memoir, Of Life and Of Leadership (Connor Court publishing, 2022) and his speeches are profiled in, Speech – The Power of Persuasion (Connor Court Publishing 2024).

Grazia Vittadini, who was born in Lodi (Italy) on September 23, 1969, was appointed to
the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG with effect from July 1, 2024. She
serves as Chief Technology Officer of the Lufthansa Group, with responsibility for the
Group’s Technology, IT & Innovation division.
Vittadini comes to the Lufthansa Group from Rolls-Royce plc, London, where she has
served as Chief Technology Officer and a member of the Executive Team, and most
latterly as a Special Advisor.
From 2002 to 2021 Grazia Vittadini held various positions in a range of locations at
Airbus Group, initially in Hamburg as a design engineer and from 2005 to 2009 in
Bremen, working on the production and service entry of the Airbus A380. In 2009 she
was appointed Head of Major Tests at the Hamburg site, and from 2013 onwards she
served as Head of Design, also at Airbus Hamburg.
In 2014 Vittadini moved to Toulouse to assume new duties as Head of Corporate Audit
and Forensic for the Airbus Group; in 2017 she was appointed Executive Vice President,
Head of Engineering and a Member of the Executive Committee of Airbus Defense and
Space; and in 2018 she was appointed Chief Technology Officer and a Member of the
Airbus Executive Committee.
Prior to her Airbus Group career, Grazia Vittadini served as a stress and design engineer
at Fairchild Dornier in Oberpfaffenhofen from 2000 to 2002, and as a focal point for the
Eurofighter Role Equipment Program at AEREA Aircraft Equipment of Milan from 1999
to 2000. She began her career in 1998, as Head of the Technical Department at Marves
(Milan).
Grazia Vittadini is a member of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG, and also holds a
supervisory mandate at The Exploration Company, Gilching.
An Italian and German dual national, Grazia Vittadini holds a Master’s degree in
Aerospace Engineering, specializing in Aerodynamics, from the Politecnico di Milano
(Polytechnic University of Milan). She further holds an Honorary Doctorate in
Engineering & Technology from Cranfield University (UK).

Expertise and experience

Born in 1962, Olivier Andriès, a French national, is a graduate of École Polytechnique (1981) and École des Mines de Paris (1984).

After holding various positions in the French Ministry of Industry and the Treasury Department at the French Ministry of Finance, in 1993 he joined the cabinet of the Minister of the Economy and Finance as advisor on industrial affairs.

In 1995, he moved to the Lagardère group as Deputy Director of Strategy, where he managed various merger and acquisition projects. In 1998, he was appointed personal advisor to Jean-Luc Lagardère. In 2000, Olivier Andriès joined Airbus as Product Policy Director, before being appointed Vice President, Widebody Aircraft Programs in 2004 and then Executive Vice President, Strategy and Cooperation in 2005.

In July 2007, he became Executive Vice President, Strategy at Airbus.

In March 2008, he joined Safran as Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Development, and in September 2009 was subsequently appointed Executive Vice President, in charge of the Defense and Security branch.

In 2011, he was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Safran Helicopter Engines, and in June 2015 was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Safran Aircraft Engines.

In September 2020, he was appointed Executive Vice-President of the Safran Group, working alongside the Chief Executive Officer.

Safran's Board of Directors appointed Olivier Andriès as the Group's Chief Executive Officer, with effect from January 1, 2021, and also as a Director from the same date.

On April 27, 2023, he was appointed as an independent director and a member of the Accounts and Audit Committee at Veolia Environnement, and on April 25, 2024, he became Chairman of Veolia Environnement’s Compensation Committee and a member of the Purpose Committee.

On September 5, 2024, Olivier Andriès was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris.

On July 11, 2025, Olivier Andriès was appointed Chairman of the French Aeronautical and Space Industries Group (Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales – GIFAS), after four years serving as its First Deputy Chairman.

Technology Drives Competitiveness and Sustainability

About BAS 2026

Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla

Sabine Klauke

Juan Carlos Salazar

Katherina Reiche

Roland Busch

Guillaume Faury

H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa

Patrick Schnieder

Peter Gerber

Eddie Wilson

Markus Otto

Sir Tim Clark

Nicola Beer

Nikki Grady-Smith

Magda Kopczyńska

Stefan Schulte

Lars Wagner

Johannes Bussmann

Shane Eddy

Brendan Nelson

Grazia Vittadini

Richard Aboulafia

Michael Schoellhorn

Olivier Andriès