Seabury Group today announced that aerospace executive Henri
Courpron will join Seabury effective July 2007 as President of its
newly formed Aerospace Division and as Regional Head for Europe,
Middle East and Africa for Seabury's broader transportation advisory
practice.
Mr. Courpron's last assignment was with Airbus where he was most
recently Executive Vice President, Procurement at Airbus headquarters
in Toulouse, France. Mr. Courpron, 44, held a number of executive
positions during his 20-year career with Airbus, including President
and Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Industrie, North America
("ANA").
Mr. Courpron had been responsible for all procurement activities
worldwide at Airbus, managing all supplier relations, and ensuring
timely delivery of all purchased goods on-cost and with the proper
quality since July 2005. He also was a member of the Airbus Executive
Committee. During his tenure in the US from 1992 through 2005, Airbus'
presence grew steadily to a sustained 50% market share in North
America.
Martin Wills, Managing Director, who to date has spearheaded
Seabury's marketing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will work
closely with Mr. Courpron, focusing on Seabury's new cargo, aircraft
leasing, asset management and related information technology
businesses.
New Aerospace Division
Mr. Courpron will develop and lead a new Seabury advisory group,
to be initially headquartered in Europe, that will focus on bringing
to the global aerospace sector Seabury's expertise in equity and debt
capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, strategy and operational
consulting, and IT software development.
"Henri, who is a recognized seasoned executive in the global
aerospace and aviation industries, will anchor Seabury's continued
global expansion of its global transportation practice that spans
aerospace, aviation, cargo, logistics and maritime," said John E.
Luth, Seabury Group's Chairman, President and CEO. "His knowledge,
experience and industry relationships are highly applicable and
synergistic to Seabury's core aviation practice that in recent years
has become principally based outside the United States."
"I have seen John Luth and the Seabury team in action for many
years, consistently making a positive difference for their clients,"
said Mr. Courpron. "Their expertise in the industry is second to none;
their customers' satisfaction and loyalty are remarkable. Seabury's
expansion plans will give European aerospace executives access to
tremendous resources."
Mr. Courpron began his professional career with Aerospatiale (now
EADS) in 1987, before joining Airbus, where he held executive
positions in Contracts and Sales. He was appointed as Airbus North
America Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing in 1998, President
and Chief Operating Officer of the company two years later, and CEO in
2001. In this position, he supervised all customer-related Airbus
activities in North America.
Mr. Courpron was born in Lyon, France. He graduated in 1985 in the
field of Computer Science from Ecole Nationale Superieure
d'Electrotechnique d'Electronique d'Informatique et d'Hydraulique
("ENSEEIHT") in Toulouse, where he specialized in artificial
intelligence.
Acquisition of Cargo Advisory Group/Global Trade Database
Seabury also has acquired a global cargo, freight and logistics
advisory group composed of veteran cargo specialists based in
Amsterdam and New York, along with a proprietary cargo/trade database
that captures proprietary data about all forms of freight movement at
points of origin, intermediate points, and final destinations. Similar
to Seabury's existing proprietary software and databases for the
global aviation industry, the Seabury Cargo Global Trade Database
("CGTD") allows Seabury to provide the world's trade flows by mode of
transport for 2000 commodities worldwide. CGTD clients include
airlines, integrators, shipping lines, airports, ports and logistics
companies. CGTD allows clients to improve commercial decision-making
with regard to market and industry developments, sourcing, enhancing
and modeling data from customs offices around the world.
New Technical Services/Asset Management Affiliate
Seabury also formed a new affiliate, SGI Aviation Services B.V.,
based in Amsterdam, which has completed the acquisition of
International Aircraft Management B.V., an independent aircraft
technical advisory firm. Along with this acquisition, SGI has secured
technical contracts covering globally 250 aircraft from banks, and
leasing and asset management firms. SGI offers a range of services
including delivery/redelivery, audit inspections, technical due
diligence, aircraft acquisition programs and consulting on regulatory
compliance, thereby providing a complete suite of aircraft technical
services.
"I'm delighted that the team of IAM B.V. has joined SGI," said
Martin Wills. "With the addition of these professionals, we will be
able provide excellent service to our customers."
Seabury Group is the leading independent transportation-focused
investment banking and advisory firm serving aviation, cargo,
logistics and maritime clients on a global basis in investment
banking, restructuring, private equity due diligence, and management
consulting. The company's professionals have advised over 100 clients
worldwide in the aerospace, airline, cargo/logistics and maritime
sectors, as well as private equity investors interested in those
sectors. Seabury has led or been a significant participant in seven of
the ten largest airline financial or operational turnarounds around
the globe in the last 15 years.
For more information, please see: http://www.seaburygroup.com