Airbus Group has appointed François Auque and Thomas d’Halluin to lead the European and US venture investment activities, respectively, of its “Airbus Ventures” initiative, which is the Silicon Valley-headquartered, early-stage investment funds, financed by Airbus Group, that operate with autonomy and trust within the Airbus family of companies. Airbus Group has previously announced its $ 150 million commitment to early-stage, venture capital investments.
Auque previously served as Executive Vice-President of Space Systems and CEO Airbus Defence and Space France and d’Halluin was COO of Airbus Ventures activities since they began. These appointments are effective immediately.
“We trust that the Airbus Ventures activities around the world will achieve both a financial and strategic return for Airbus Group. Having a focus on emerging entrepreneurs in our industry keeps us on the front line of new opportunities for both our business and those of our partners,” said Harald Wilhelm, Chief Financial Officer at Airbus Group.
“Airbus Group is constantly seeking to explore new business models and technological trends and Airbus Ventures’ global team ensures that we reach all innovative ecosystems to encourage early-stage entrepreneurs,” said François Auque.
“Innovation and boldness are vital characteristics of Airbus Group and we’re extending that work by identifying, investing in, and inspiring future aerospace pioneers including our initial portfolio companies, Local Motors, Parsable and QCWare,” said Thomas d’Halluin.
Several additional hires have been made in North America and Europe. Maryanna Saenko, based in Silicon Valley, previously led Lux Research’s autonomous systems group. Anabelle Oliveira, based in Paris, is a longtime Airbus Defence and Space employee. Matthieu Repellin, also based in Paris, spent 13 years in the semiconductor industry prior to joining Airbus. Additional recruits will complete the team by the end of 2016.