People in composites: January 2024

Daher announces two new management appointments for business activity, executive committee

Daher (Orly, France) has announced two top management appointments for its business activity leadership, involving personalities from within the company who already have been very involved in the implementation of its “Take Off 2027” strategic plan. These managers also are joining the Daher executive committee:

Cédric Eloy takes charge of the Industrial Services Division and joins the Daher executive committee, effective Jan. 1, 2024; and
Aymeric Daher will lead the Logistics Division and is to also join the Daher executive committee, as of Feb. 1, 2024.

Cédric Eloy takes charge of Daher’s Industrial Services Division.

Graduated with a Master’s degree in chemistry from the ENSCM (l’école nationale supérieure de chimie de Montpellier) in 2007, and with an MBA in marketing and innovation from the EM Lyon business school in 2008, Eloy began his career as a strategy consultant at D&Consultants in 2009.

He joined Daher in 2011, initially serving as marketing manager through 2015, then becoming the director of innovation until 2017, followed by his appointment as the vice president of innovation strategy based in San Francisco through 2020. He continued his development within Daher as the deputy general manager of technology from 2020.

In 2023, Eloy became the managing director of France’s AAA (Assistance Aéronautique et Aérospatiale) following Daher’s acquisition of this company with the ambition of becoming the benchmark player in industrial services in France and a leading player globally. Drawing on his expertise acquired within Daher, he is leading the strategic “services” axis of the company’s “Take Off 2027” plan.

Aymeric Daher is to lead the Logistics Division at Daher.

Aymeric Daher graduated from the University of Valencia in Spain in 2004, and earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IMKK) located in Calcutta, India in 2008. This was followed by a Master’s degree in management and entrepreneurship during 2009 from the ESCP Paris business school.

He began his career at BNP Paribas in 2010 as a business analyst in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, through 2011, then as a credit analyst in Paris until 2013.

In 2013, he joined the Daher family business in the Logistics Division as project manager, becoming the director of operations at the company’s Le Bourget, France, site in 2015, and then headed logistics contracts and key accounts until 2017. From January 2018 to December 2021, he was successively the director of logistics and industrial services sales, then the director of aerostructures sales.

Since September 2021, Daher has been vice president of strategy, mergers and acquisitions and client relations at Daher, with a key role in leading the company's strategy for its 5-year “Take Off 2027” strategic plan and overseeing major acquisitions in the aerospace sector.

KraussMaffei Group announces management change

Chi Zang, KraussMaffei Group’s new CEO.

The KraussMaffei Group’s (KMG, Munich, Germany) previous chairman of the supervisory board, Chi Zhang, has been appointed as the new chief executive officer (CEO), effective as of Jan. 10, 2024. The previous CEO, Yong Li, will take on the newly created position of chief administrative officer. His responsibilities will include corporate HR, IT and audit. Shihao Yang from the top management of KraussMaffei’s main shareholder Sinochem will head the supervisory board. The change will be accompanied by a significant strengthening of the KraussMaffei Group’s management board, which will be increased to three members. Jörg Bremer remains a member of the management board as chief financial officer (CFO).

The new CEO, Chi Zhang, has been with Sinochem for more than two decades in a variety of executive, operational and project-related management positions. Since the end of 2022, he has been the chairman of China National Chemical Equipment Company (CNCE), a Sinochem Holdings company and owner of the KraussMaffei Group.

“I am looking forward to this new role,” Zhang says. “With our new, further strengthened management team, the support of our main shareholder Sinochem and the many committed and highly competent colleagues in Germany and around the world, we have the best prerequisites to put KraussMaffei back on the road to success.”

According to the new chairman of the supervisory board, Shihao Yang, “With Chi Zhang, Yong Li and Jörg Bremer, KraussMaffei is ideally equipped to strengthen its capacity at the management board. I would like to thank Yong Li, who has led the company through a very challenging situation, for his great contribution in the last year. Together with the KraussMaffei team, Yong Li and Jörg Bremer have successfully reduced the level of management structure, selected key business leaders and improved internal management conditions which establish a good foundation for the turnaround. I am pleased that Yong Li will continue to be available to KraussMaffei in the new position as chief administrative officer. I will work together with members of supervisory board and management board to make KraussMaffei shine again.”

Web Industries names new CFO

Megan Glidden, Web Industries CFO.

Web Industries Inc. (Marlborough, Mass., U.S.) has named Megan Glidden, CPA, as CFO, effective Jan. 15, 2024. “Web Industries conducts business in some of the world’s most dynamic industries,” Glidden says. “I look forward to further advancing our financial functions in ways that not only benefit Web Industries, but also our customers, partners and suppliers.”

Glidden comes to Web Industries from Shirley, Massachusetts-based Bemis Associates Inc., a privately owned manufacturer, where she most recently served as vice president of finance and global financial planning and analysis (FP&A). Before that, Glidden held finance roles of increasing responsibility at Boston-based McGladrey and Pullen (now RSM), iProspect and Schafer Corp.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in corporate finance and accounting and a Master’s degree in accountancy from Bentley University. She also attended the Senior Executive Chief Financial Officer program at Columbia University.

Glidden will be based at Web Industries’ corporate headquarters in Marlborough, reporting directly to Web Industries President and CEO John Madej.

New sales engineer joins Verisurf Software team

Verisurf Software (Anaheim, Calif., U.S.) announces that Mark Meyer has joined the company as a sales engineer in the southern region. In his role, Meyer will works closely with customers to assess their metrology needs and provide the best products and workflows for their applications.

Mark Meyer, Verisurf Software sales engineer in the southern region.

Meyer brings more than 9 years of experience in design engineering, manufacturing and related software use, including SolidWorks. He is proficient in deploying and using Verisurf software and the many measurement devices (sensors) the software is capable of operating.

“Mark has already shown himself to be an important addition to the Verisurf sales team with his depth of knowledge and service-oriented personality. He does an excellent job of assessing customers’ needs and helping them navigate the best metrology solutions and workflows. We are pleased to have him on our team,” Pat Bass, director of sales for Verisurf, says.

Eviation announces new executive leadership team

Eviation Aircraft (Arlington, Wash., U.S.), a manufacturer of all-electric aircraft, announces that Andre Stein has been appointed as CEO, and Jeff Hurford as CFO. The aerospace veterans will lead Eviation through the next stages toward certification of the Alice aircraft.

Andre Stein, Eviation CEO.

Stein has been appointed as Eviation’s CEO after more than 25 years at Embraer, where he co-founded Eve Air Mobility and served as Eve’s CEO. Stein is a seasoned leader with a proven track record in product development, leading the Embraer E2 product and market strategy from definition to certification. At Eve, Stein also led the company’s industrialization strategy, partnerships and sales, and capital raising, including Eve’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.

Jeff Hurford, Eviation CFO.

Hurford joins as Eviation’s CFO from Cirrus Aircraft where he was platform director of the SR1X program. Over his career, Hurford has held senior financial and program management roles in the aerospace industry, including 19 years at Gulfstream Aerospace. He brings extensive experience in leading financial and commercial oversight of aircraft development programs and product delivery.

“Eviation’s mission to revolutionize aerospace couldn’t be more important or more urgent, and I am honored to be joining the team,” Stein says. “I have long admired the Alice aircraft. I look forward to working with Eviation’s team to take Alice through the next phases of its development and bring it to market, so passengers everywhere can enjoy sustainable and convenient commuter air travel.”

“Eviation is entering an exciting period in its history,” Hurford adds. “As we move ever closer toward certification and industrialization of the Alice, I am thrilled to join Andre and the team to lead the aerospace industry’s transition to sustainability.”