Giancarlo Mezzanatto has been appointed Chief Executive Officer for Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, the management company for the Eurofighter Typhoon. He was selected by the shareholders of the Eurofighter GmbH consortium and will start the role on 1 May.
Giancarlo joins Eurofighter from Leonardo, where he has held a series of senior roles, most recently the role of Senior Vice President European Military Programmes. Prior to that, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer Programmes at Eurofighter GmbH between 2019 and 2021.
His appointment follows Eurofighter GmbH’s three-year partner company rotation policy. He succeeds Carlo Mancusi who tragically passed away in December 2022. Wolfgang Gammel, Eurofighter’s Chief Operating Officer Programmes (COOP), has held the CEO role since the start of 2023 and will hand over duties to Giancarlo when he starts in May.
Andrea Thompson, Chair of the Eurofighter GmbH Supervisory Board, said: “We are delighted to welcome Giancarlo back to Eurofighter, as he takes-up the role of Chief Executive Officer. He brings significant Eurofighter Programme experience and expertise, which will be of huge value during the next few years.
“Giancarlo’s appointment follows a challenging period for Eurofighter GmbH following the sad death of Carlo Mancusi. I would like to thank the Eurofighter Board of Management for their efforts during this time and, in particular, Wolfgang Gammel who took on the role of CEO in this interim phase.”
Giancarlo joins the Eurofighter Board of Management and will work alongside Wolfgang Gammel, Chief Operating Officer Programmes; Andy Eddleston, Chief Operating Officer Capabilities; Gabriel Semelas, Chief Commercial and Financial Officer; and Giammarco Quaglia, Director Business Support.
“I am excited to join and lead Eurofighter GmbH at a crucial time for security in Europe and around the world. I look forward to working with the Consortium Partners and Customer Nations,” Giancarlo Mezzanatto commented.
“In recent years Eurofighter has secured and delivered on new contracts and capabilities. Together we will continue to develop the capabilities of Eurofighter Typhoon, ensuring that it will remain the world’s leading swing-role military aircraft,” he added.
Giancarlo started his career in the Italian Aerospace Industry (Aeritalia) in 1987. He has a degree in Philosophy and a Masters in Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering. He spent the first ten years of his career working on Artificial Intelligence applications for military programmes.
