Governance

Our corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of roles and responsibilities within the Group, such as the MBDA Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Group Directors of the Executive Committee, the national companies’ Managing Directors and other stakeholders.

Our shareholders are three leading players in aerospace and defence: Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

The MBDA Board of Directors, composed of shareholders’ nominees, gives MBDA’s objectives to ensure the Group sustainability and adequate returns for shareholders. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the designated permanent representative of the Board and is the only member of the Board permitted to carry out executive functions in MBDA. The Board unanimously approves the Group’s strategy and as a matter of consequence approves all major decisions including strategic bids and contracts, and mergers and acquisitions proposals.

The CEO conducts the overall management of MBDA and ensure that all appropriate actions are taken following the decisions of the Board. An Executive Committee assists the CEO in carrying out these responsibilities. All Executive Committee members report to the CEO and rank equally. Its main mission is to ensure an efficient coordination within all its members, especially for the most complex and sensitive topics to be addressed by MBDA.

The members of the Executive Committee are the following:

• The Chief Executive Officer;
• The Executive Group Director Strategy & Managing Director Germany;
• The Executive Group Director Sales & Business Development & Managing Director Italy ;
• The Executive Group Director Programmes & Managing Director France;
• The Executive Group Director Engineering and Managing Director UK;
• The Executive Group Director Operations;
• The Chief Technology and Performance Officer;
• The Chief Finance Officer;
• The Executive Group Director Human Resources.

MBDA’s corporate governance takes into account the company’s specific and unique organisational model in the defence industry, with an integrated model at the Group level with a unique profit and loss responsibility, while a specific role is taken on by each national company’s Managing Director within their own country. Most of the functions within MBDA’s integrated model feature cross-border committees to develop policies and best practices for their respective activities and operations.

A detailed Business Management System contains all policies, processes and procedures which govern the daily operations of MBDA’s functions and corporate structures; in this way, all stakeholders can manage in a manner which complies with applicable laws and MBDA’s guidelines.