John Leahy (executive)
John Leahy | |
---|---|
Born | August 1950 M.B.A. ) |
Occupation | Businessman |
Spouse | Grace Leahy |
Children | 3 |
John Leahy (born August 1950) is an American businessman. He is a former chief operating officer–Customers at Airbus (2005–2017), as well as the company's chief commercial officer between August 1994 and 2017, and a former member of the Airbus main board of management. Well known as one of the commercial aviation industry's most prolific aircraft salesmen, he made a significant contribution to the increase in Airbus's market share, from 18% in 1993 to 57% a decade later.[2][3] He is responsible for over $1 trillion in sales.[4]
Background
Leahy has an MBA from Syracuse University and a BA from Fordham University.[5] He is a licensed multi-engine commercial pilot and is a former flight instructor with nearly 4,000 hours of flying time. He flew cargo across the Great Lakes. From 1977 to 1984, Leahy worked in marketing at Piper Aircraft.
Career
Leahy joined Airbus North America in January 1985, becoming head of sales soon after. He was appointed president of Airbus North America in 1988 with responsibility for the penetration of the strategic North American market, where most major U.S. airlines were Boeing customers.
His first deal was selling A320s to
In 1994, Leahy was appointed chief commercial officer at the main office of Airbus, the position of the sales chief which was previously allocated to a Briton. In this capacity, he has outlasted five Airbus CEOs, and seven Boeing sales chiefs.[3]
Leahy set the goal of 50% market share by 2000 from low-double digits then in a little over five years. He presented this goal to the board in January 1995, for which this was out of reach, targeting 25% to 30%. He achieved 18% in 1995 and then Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Ron Woodard was determined to crush Airbus by cutting prices and offering early delivery slots: the 737 production rose from 21 a month to 27, unprecedented at the time, but the supply chain couldn't keep up and the line was shut down for 30 days to catch up, causing Boeing's first loss in 40 years as Woodard lost his job. Douglas failed in its strategy of being a small player taking small, profitable deals which lasted about three years : by 1997, it was down to a 7% market share and was absorbed by Boeing. Airbus reached 50% in 1999.[7] It maintained over 50% market share including deliveries until 2005.
Leahy is also known in the industry as a polarizing figure. Former Boeing sales chief Toby Bright said "John was the guy that at Boeing we loved to hate and we blamed him for a lot of the losses that we experienced against him".[3]
Leahy was instrumental in the launch of the new Airbus flagship, the
The first signs of his job taking its toll on him appeared in autumn 2006, when he had to undergo heart surgery. At the time, doctors advised him to slow his work pace.[8][3]
He was supposed to retire at the end of 2017 to be replaced by his deputy Kiran Rao.[9] Rao stepped down and
See also
- Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus
- Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus
References
- ^ "Top management". Airbus. Retrieved 8 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 978-0-7535-1014-8.
- ^ a b c d "Selling the sky: the man who made Airbus number one". smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
- ^ "Leahy to bow out from Airbus at year-end after final sales push". Reuters. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ Hepher, Tim. "Special Report – The man who sold the sky". U.K. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- ^ "Leahy reflects on 33 years at Airbus". Leeham. Nov 28, 2017.
- ^ Scott Hamilton (Dec 14, 2017). "Top Airbus officials scoffed at Leahy's 50% market share goal". Leeham. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ Seattle Times: Launch of A350 imminent, Airbus sales chief says
- ^ Tim Hepher (Oct 11, 2017). "Leahy to bow out from Airbus at year-end after final sales push". Reuters.
- ^ Tim Hepher (Nov 26, 2017). "Airbus set to poach Rolls exec to head jetliner sales – sources". Reuters.
- ^ Gates, Dominic (4 February 2018). "Brash Airbus sales chief Leahy bows out after reshaping the industry". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
External links
- Airbus Management Overview – John Leahy
- Tim Hepher (Jun 22, 2017). "Airbus COO shares the negotiating tricks that helped him sell $1 trillion worth of jets Reuters". businessinsider. Reuters.
- "It's time to unwind, get healthy, eat right and avoid jet lag, says Airbus' Leahy". Leeham. Jan 12, 2018.
- Jens Flottau (Jan 22, 2018). "Interview: The World According to John Leahy". Aviation Week & Space Technology.