The European Land Defence Industry Group, ELDIG, is now chaired by Leonardo-Finmeccanica. President and CEO of Patria Heikki Allonen passed the Presidency to Roberto Cortesi (photo), Managing Director of Leonardo-Finmeccanica Defence Systems Division.
The ceremony took place at Eurosatory Exhibition which took place in Paris this past week (13-17 June). ELDIG’s Presidency rotates within the Group member companies every second year.
ELDIG serves as a forum for the land systems industry under the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), which represents more than 3,000 companies from over 20 nations with 792,000 employees. ELDIG is the common voice of the European land defense industry and represents over 100,000 employees.
“ELDIG is an important forum, which promotes the importance of the land sector and strengthens cooperation among main industries, organizations and European authorities and administration. During Patria’s chairmanship we at ELDIG have achieved major goals with main stakeholders in the defense sector. We have also established policies and created best practices within the industry. This is a good basis for Leonardo-Finmeccanica to continue the good, ongoing work”, said Heikki Allonen, the former President of ELDIG.
“Leonardo is proud to assume the presidency of such an important industry forum and we look forward to representing the European land systems market in which we play a prominent role. I intend to chair the work at ELDIG in a pragmatic fashion to effectively represent more than 100,000 employees in Europe. Our goal will be to strengthen the land defense industry in Europe, improve our competitiveness worldwide and support the spirit of partnership within the EU defense sector”, commented Roberto Cortesi, the new President of ELDIG.
Leonardo-Finmeccanica is among the top ten global players in Aerospace, Defence and Security and Italy’s main industrial company. As a single entity from January 2016, organized into business divisions (Helicopters; Aircraft; Aero-structures; Airborne & Space Systems; Land & Naval Defence Electronics; Defence Systems; Security & Information Systems), Leonardo-Finmeccanica operates in the most competitive international markets by leveraging its areas of technology and product leadership. On 31 December 2015 Finmeccanica recorded consolidated revenues of 13 billion Euros and has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the UK and the U.S.
Patria Group is a trusted provider of defense, security and aviation life-cycle support services and technology solutions. Patria has operations and projects in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Poland, United Arab Emirates, USA and South Africa. Versatile duties employ today some 2,800 skilled professionals.
