Sarcozy accepts need for EADS probe

The long-running tale of malpractice enveloping EADS continues. Nicholas Sarcozy distances himself from any involvement, and calls for punishment of the guilty

Earlier posts to this blog have followed the various dismissals, resignations, restructurings, and political interventions, at EADS and its Airbus subsidiary.

This week the International Herald Tribune picked up the news agency bulletin:

“If there are people who committed fraud at EADS, judicial officials must get to the bottom of it so that we know the truth and those who behaved dishonestly be punished in proportion to what they did,” Sarkozy said. “I’ll get to the bottom of the investigation to know what the responsibilities of the state were at the time.”

While a major shareholder, the French government does not sit on the EADS board. Its interests are represented by the French defense and media conglomerate Lagardere, which holds a 7.5 percent stake.

EADS shareholders Lagardere SCA of France and Germany’s DaimlerChrysler AG announced in March 2006 that they would reduce their stakes.

There are several inter-related strands to this story. Airbus is a European flagship company with a complex governance structure through its parent EADS which involves particularly French and German Governments. The business theme is centred around the fierce competition between Airbus and Boeing products. The political theme involves unresolved bickering about the ways in which the US and European governments subsidize their commercial interests. There are additional fascinating manufacturing, logistic, and technological issues to do with creating next-generation products across multiple international sites, and meet increasingly drifting deadlines. Oh, yes, and Airbus is struggling to achieve considerable cost-cuttings with industrial relations troubles. Add to all these issues a series of allegations of corruption.

At the start of the year I attempted to tease out the killer facts in the Airbus affair. At the time, it seemed that

[In 2006] A380 project executives, including Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert, were dismissed. Humbert was blamed for the failure to deal effectively with the project delays, but also was accused of concealing the seriousness of the problems.

In the same period, it was revealed that the joint CEO of EADS, Noel Forgeard had sold EADS stock weeks before its Airbus subsidiary announced the Airbus A380 would be delayed again. M. Forgeard resigned, and the stock plummeted.

In a short space of time, Humbert’s replacement, at Airbus, Christian Streiff resigned, which was when Louis Gallois stepped in. Streiff was believed to have failed to secure backing for a financial package he believed necessary to turn things around with the A380.

In a few months, the company had begun to unravel some of its knottier problems, and achieved a more convincing organizational structure.

However, the changes left some players with lesser roles.

Arnaud Lagardère (of the media group of the same name) was French Co-chairman of EADS and seems to have been airbrushed out of the wider game. It had been muttered (especially in the French press) that he escaped scrutiny over earlier share scandals, and is ‘protected’ by Sarcozy, who was given a rather soft ride from Lagardère’s media group in his election campaign. M. Largardère, claims that he had no inside knowledge of delays in deliveries of the A380, when his family group sold off 7.5 per cent of the Franco-German planemaker’s shares in April 2006. The possibility remains that he will be in line to return to EADS in the future, when the Chair rotates from German to French hands

According to The Independent, reports from the French press, that

[S]ince taking over the family empire after his father died in March 2003, M. Lagardère has cultivated a chatty and approachable style. He has, however, been plunged into controversies. His group is one of France’s biggest media players, owning a controlling stake in Hachette-Filipacci Media, the company that owns Paris-Match. He also has smaller stakes in Le Monde, Le Parisien and L’Equipe … M. Lagardère has been accused of interfering in editorial decisions to protect his friend M. Sarkozy and especially to prevent discussion of alleged problems in the President’s [private life]. Le Monde quoted a “close adviser” of M. Lagardère [as saying that] “whatever happens” he will be protected by M. Sarkozy.

It now seems, that “whatever happens” M. Sarcozy intends to place himself hors de combat.

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The positions change on the EADS chess board

A major restructuring is announced at EADS, the parent of the high-profile Airbus organization. The complex double helix of German and French bonds has been split apart. The reconsituted entity is a more recognizable structure. Will it provide for more effective corporate governance and strategy, as it faces severe internal and external challenges?

The announcement on the EADS website was calm, hardly signifying any major changes. It all read as if everything was well-planned.

EADS shareholders have decided – together with the EADS management team – to modify the company’s current management and leadership structure. Guiding principles of the modification are efficiency, cohesiveness and simplification of EADS management and leadership structure, towards governance best practices and in the respect of balance between the French and the German shareholders. The German Government has been consulted as well.

Under the simplified management structure, EADS will be led by a single Chairman and a single CEO.

Rüdiger Grube will assume the position of sole Chairman of the Board of Directors of EADS. In this role, he will be responsible for overseeing the Group’s strategic development and dealings with its Shareholders. In particular, he will chair the newly created EADS strategic committee.

Louis Gallois will assume the position of sole CEO of EADS. In this role, he will be responsible for leading the management team in the execution of the Group’s strategy and managing the company’s interaction with public shareholders.

Thomas Enders will assume the position of CEO of Airbus in the Toulouse headquarters of the company, reporting to the CEO of EADS. He will be supported by Fabrice Brégier as COO of Airbus.

According to the BBC,

The French joint chief executive Louis Gallois will take sole charge at EADS while his German co-head Tom Enders gets the top job at Airbus.

EADS’ complex structure has been blamed for many of its recent problems.

“We need to be a normal company,” Mr Enders said.

Previously, EADS had two chairmen and two chief executives: one French and one German. Daimler executive Ruediger Grube will become sole chairman of EADS, a post he previously held jointly with France’s Arnaud Lagardere.

The implied abnormality by Enders was the double-harnesses imposed on EADS by the influences exerted by two co-chairman, and two co-CEOs This was the heritage of the company’s formation, and reflected the ‘least worse’ way of maintaining cooperation between the company’s two main national interests in France and Germany. No alternative better could be found than the structure which permitted one French and one German chairman, one French and one German CEO on the main board.

But let’s see what can be concluded beyond the formal statement:

One or two commentators suggested that the changes were not particularly unexpected. I will be charitable and suggest that those commentators must have been holding back on the outcome for some reason or other. The details are far from expected.

In ealier posts I had chronicled the various problems at EADS and its the troubles that have piled up for its major subsidiary, Airbus. The recent press reports had led me to conclude that attempts to resolve the complicated dual-management structure appear to be centering on co-chief executive Tom Enders.

Mr Enders is a controversial figure in France after he publicly criticized political interference from Paris and suggested the possibility of sensitive asset disposals. However, Daimler, the core German industrial shareholder in EADS, is determined that Mr Enders should not be sacrificed in any final deal.

Let me put a few pieces on the chessboard. Louis Gallois, head of Airbus, is widely admired, and believed to be needed to stick it at Airbus, and see though Power 8, the strategic plan to streamline the business. This is a production and commercial imperative. He is co-CEO of EADS with Tom Enders at present.

Arnaud Lagardère of the media group of the same name is French Co-chairman of EADS. His German co-chair is Rudiger Grube.

Nicholas Sarcozy and Angela Merkel are also in play, with special concerns for their national interests (and for their own political positions). EADS Shareholder DaimlerChrysler has signaled willingness to increase its holding, a positive gesture to Sarcozy who would like to reduce the holding of the French Government. DaimlerChryser’s bid is linked to their interests in keeping Tom Enders in play.

The rumors in the French press

Rumors suggest the game will involve taking Enders off the board. This has been denied emphatically by the company.

So what is ‘behind the headlines?

The company statement seems to have airbrushed out Arnaud Lagardere, the earstwhile Co-chair of EADS. Strange. So the German Rudi Grube takes over as Chair of the EADS main board. But Lagardere remains a powerful figure and shareholder. It has been suggested that he has escaped scrutiny over earlier share scandals, and is ‘protected by Sacozy, who in turn is aware of a rather soft-ride from M Lagardere in his recent election campaign. And there is the possibility that the media figure will be in line to return as sole Chair of EADS in the future, in an agreement in which the Chair will rotate from German to French holders every five years.

Another ‘solution’ left Louis Gallois as CEO of EADS and Tom Enders in charge of the subsidiary Airbus. This grants Gallois his (alleged) wish to avoid being left to sort out Airbus while answering to Tom Enders. On the other hand, the one figure widely regarded as key to implementing the Power8 plan at Airbus is Gallois, now expected to play a more political role.

The changes are sufficiently complex to warrant a working party investigating them.

Sarcozy, EADS. Qu’ est-ce qu’il a les demaneaisons?

Nicholas Sacozy may be finding that EADS and its Airbus operations are giving him a most irritating itch that refuses to go away. One of his first acts as President was to visit the Toulouse sight of Airbus. Now the earlier governance problems at EADS may be returning to chafe him, with suggestions of his own peripheral involvement.

Background

Last year, A380 project executives, including Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert, were dismissed, primarily for failure to deal effectively with the project delays. Humbert was also was accused of concealing the seriousness of the problems. In a short space of time, Humbert’s replacement, Christian Streiff resigned, and the current leader, Louis Gallois was brought in. Streiff was believed to have failed to secure backing for a financial package (The Power8 plan) he believed necessary to turn things around with the A380.

The Airbus Power8 announcement

The Airbus Power8 announcement of 28th of February indicated:

A third A320 Family FAL [Final Assembly Line] will be set up in Hamburg immediately to cope with the steep production ramp-up currently under way. This FAL will be established in already existing facilities and will have full type flexibility when demand for A320s exceeds rate 14 per month. The A320 will continue to be assembled in Toulouse up to 14 [per month]. Hamburg will also perform final assembly of the future New Single Aisle family.. Furthermore, in order to allow parts to be fitted in the most logical place to optimize the overall cycle time, some upstream preparatory A320 and A380 cabin installation work will be transferred from Hamburg to Toulouse.

Which did not prevent vigorous opposition to the plan at Toulouse, and an early problem for Nicholas Sarcozy’s Presidency.

The itch that won’t go away

Within weeks of his election, Sarco was at Toulouse. He bought some time, obtaining some wriggle room by promising to return in July with Angela Merkel, thus indicating the international dimension of the problem. But the earlier itch remains.

The French co-chairman of EADS, and known to be close to M Sarcozy has been questioned by financial investigators still exploring into alleged insider trading in EADS last year. M. Largardère, claims that he had no inside knowledge of delays in deliveries of the A380, when his family group sold off 7.5 per cent of the Franco-German planemaker’s shares in April 2006.

According to The Independent, reports from the French press, that

[S]ince taking over the family empire after his father died in March 2003, M. Lagardère has cultivated a chatty and approachable style. He has, however, been plunged into controversies. His group is one of France’s biggest media players, owning a controlling stake in Hachette-Filipacci Media, the company that owns Paris-Match. He also has smaller stakes in Le Monde, Le Parisien and L’Equipe … M. Lagardère has been accused of interfering in editorial decisions to protect his friend M. Sarkozy and especially to prevent discussion of alleged problems in the President’s [private life]. Le Monde quoted a “close adviser” of M. Lagardère yesterday as saying that “whatever happens” he will be protected by M. Sarkozy.

I took this to mean that his friend would continue to conform to the French distaste for airing the personal problems of politicians. Nevertheless, in England, The Independent’s article may be taken for evidence of a political cover-up.

The EADS itch will not be going away for the new President.