Louis Gallois has been CEO of aerospace giant EADS 
since August 2007 – he previously shared the job – and president and CEO of Airbus since 2006. He also served as chairman and CEO of its subsidiary SNECMA, chairman and CEO of Aerospatiale and chairman of SNCF. Earlier in his career, he held positions in the French Ministries of Economy and Finance, Research and Industry, and Defence.

Simon Hobbs: What kind of leader are you?


Louis Gallois: In a company people have to trust you. It means you have to be reliable, to do what you say, to show the way and stick to what you have determined.


SH: People say you are very self-disciplined.


LG: No one is an exception to the company. I am an employee: if we say we have to save money, then I have to save money. And you have to meet the people – you have to discuss with them, you have to feel them. 


SH: Some say that when you were young you were a firebrand Socialist who flirted with Marxism.


LG: As the saying goes: “If you are not Socialist at 20, then it means you have no heart. If you are still a Socialist at 60, it means you have no brain.” I am not in politics but I stick to my values and they are clear. There is not just money in the world – we have to take people into account. We are not here on earth to make money; we are here to share and exchange with people. I think my political model is very simple and it is the French model: liberté, egalité, fraternité.


SH: After you left school, you spent 10 years in the civil service. What did you learn there? 


LG: It was a fascinating period of my life. I spent two years with my family in Asia and I learned a lot – it attracted me to industry because Japan at that time was building its own industries. I decided then that I wanted to move into industry and, as a civil servant, I oriented my career towards this end. 


SH: You were 45 when you became chairman and CEO of the state-owned French engine maker Snecma, producing for both Airbus and Boeing. What change did you lead there?


LG: To be designated chairman of a company like Snecma from one day to another is not the best preparation. I was very lucky because I found in Snecma a very strong team able to train me and I had a fantastic partner in General Electric.


SH: Tell me about GE’s Jack Welch and his leadership and how you interacted with him.


LG: Jack Welch is extremely impressive. He is a completely different leader than me. He is extremely rude, but he has extremely clear ideas on management. No doubt, perhaps not enough. He was simplifying everything. 


SH: When you led the French railway system, how did you decide to lead it?


LG: My success was because I had the capacity to explain to the people that they had to change. And they accepted that. I was extremely attached to them and at the end, they were attached to me. 


SH: But what did you bring to the table that made it so different? The winter before you took over there was a several-month-long strike and a fierce fight for benefits such as the right to retire at 50.


LG: After the strike people began to mature and understand that they had to move, to change. I did not create this opportunity but I took it. We took a journey together and after 10 years the company was profitable, well managed and able to compete.


SH: You were parachuted in at short notice during the summer of 2006 when Airbus was in its deepest crisis for 36 years as the delay on the A380 increased to two years. How did you lead Airbus through these troubles? 


LG: My first duty was to make peace inside the company. The second was to address the Airbus problem as it was in bad shape. The problems lay not with the French or German sides, but with the integration. Each side was working in an isolated way – different tools, different methods, different IT systems. You can’t build an airplane like that. 


SH: How did you handle the 10,000 job losses that came about through restructuring?


LG: We were clear that we would reduce overheads and employment in a fair way between both Germany and France. 


SH: How did you engage with the unions?


LG: The unions were obliged to react and I’m sure they understood our situation. 


SH: To what degree have you been able to remove the silos, the infighting within the organisation in the new streamlined structure?


LG: First, transparency. It means that I can never say that I was not informed of a situation. I know where we are exactly and I have the capacity to impose action and see that the action has been taken. The second is to create shared services. I don’t want to reduce the capacity of divisions. We have to create EADS as an integrated company – and we are working on that. 


SH: What motivates you?


LG: I am in the best industry in the world. I have a strong sense of public service but the timing means that EADS is public works. We have to create a brilliant company and face strong competition – it’s a challenge. 


SH: And what have you learned from your mistakes?


LG: That I have to trust my own judgement and not rely solely on that of my advisors. It doesn’t mean I am not listening, however.