KNDS, the defense technology group which brings together Nexter (France) andKrauss-Maffei Wegmann (Germany) to form Europe’s leading company for militaryland systems, is filling the position of its Group Chief Financial Officer with PhilippeBalducchi, former CEO of Airbus Canada. Philippe Balducchi will be a member of theKNDS Executive Committee led by CEO Frank Haun. The 57-year-old will assume hisnew role on September 1, 2021. Until then, the position will be held jointly by HorstRieder and Nicolas Million, the CFOs of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter.
Philippe Balducchi played a central role in the creation of Airbus Canada, which arosefrom the partnership between aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace, theCanadian province of Quebec, and Airbus in July 2018. As the CEO of the company,he led the transformation of the A220 program and its integration into Airbus withthe launch of a new Final Assembly Line for the A220 in the US, a reshaped industrialset up, more than 150 deliveries and an order book that doubled.
Philippe Balducchi began his career in 1988 at US chip manufacturer HarrisSemiconductor. This was followed by leadership positions in finance at Matra, beforehe moved to Airbus in 2001. There, he was CFO of Airbus North America, Head ofInvestor Relations for Airbus Group in Toulouse, and Head of PerformanceManagement for Airbus’ commercial aircraft business, until he took over the leadershipof Airbus Canada in 2018. He is an aviation engineer and holds an MBA from the Écoledes Hautes Études Commerciales.
KNDS (KMW+NEXTER Defense Systems) is the result of the association of Krauss-Maffei Wegmannand Nexter, two of the leading European manufacturers of military land systems based in Germany andFrance.
KNDS forms a Group of 8,300 employees, with a 2019 turnover of 2.5 billion euro, an order backlog ofaround 9.6 billion euro and incoming orders of 4.3 billion euro. The range of its products includes mainbattle tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems, weapons systems, ammunition, military bridges,customer services, battle management systems, training solutions, protection solutions and a widerange of equipment.
The formation of KNDS represents the beginning of consolidation in land defense systems industry inEurope. The strategic alliance between KMW and Nexter enhances both groups’ competitiveness andinternational positions, as well as their ability to meet the needs of their respective national army. Inaddition, it offers to its European and NATO customers the opportunity of increased standardization andinteroperability for their defense equipment, with a dependable industrial base.
KNDS headquarters are based in Amsterdam.
