Christian Scherer

Christian Scherer
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Birthplace	Duisburg, Germany
Nationality	German, French
Occupation	Business executive
Employer	Airbus
Known for	Former Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Commercial Aircraft
Education	University of Ottawa École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris

Christian Scherer (born 1962) is a German-French business executive who served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Aircraft business at Airbus, the European aerospace manufacturer's largest and most strategically important division. Over the course of a career spanning several decades in the aerospace and defence industries, Scherer held a succession of senior leadership roles at Airbus, including Chief Commercial Officer, before ascending to lead the company's commercial aircraft operations. His tenure at the helm of Commercial Aircraft was marked by continued development of the Airbus product line, engagement with global airline customers, and efforts to address persistent supply chain challenges. In July 2025, Airbus announced that Scherer would be succeeded as CEO of Commercial Aircraft by Lars Wagner, effective 1 January 2026, concluding a period of significant activity in product strategy and customer relations.

Early Life

Christian Scherer was born in 1962 in Duisburg, a city in the Ruhr area of western Germany. Holding both German and French nationality, Scherer's binational background would prove characteristic of his later career at Airbus, a company whose corporate identity is itself rooted in European cross-border cooperation between France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Details of his upbringing and family background prior to his university education have not been widely documented in public sources.

Education

Scherer pursued higher education at two institutions in different countries, reflecting his dual Franco-German heritage. He studied at the University of Ottawa in Canada and at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP), one of the oldest and most prominent business schools in France. The ESCP, founded in 1819, is a leading European business school with campuses across the continent. Scherer's educational background in business provided a foundation for his subsequent career in international aerospace management and commercial strategy.

Career

Early Career at Airbus and MBDA

Christian Scherer built a lengthy career within the European aerospace and defence sector. Before assuming the most prominent roles for which he became known at Airbus, Scherer held leadership positions across the broader Airbus group and its related entities. Notably, he served in a senior capacity at MBDA, a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles, which is jointly owned by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo. His experience at MBDA and within the wider Airbus defence and space operations gave him broad exposure to both the commercial and military dimensions of the aerospace business.

Appointment as Chief Commercial Officer

In September 2018, Airbus announced the appointment of Christian Scherer as its Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), the executive responsible for overseeing the company's global sales campaigns, marketing, and customer relations for its commercial aircraft portfolio. The appointment came during a period of considerable leadership turbulence at Airbus. Scherer replaced Eric Schulz, who had held the CCO position for less than a year before departing the company.

The leadership change at the CCO level was noted by industry observers as part of a broader pattern of senior executive turnover at Airbus during that period. Schulz's departure added complexity to what Aviation Week described as a series of leadership changes at the top of the manufacturer. The Wall Street Journal reported on the appointment as part of ongoing turbulence in Airbus's senior ranks, characterizing the naming of a new sales chief as a significant move during a period of internal restructuring.

As CCO, Scherer was responsible for leading Airbus's commercial sales efforts at a time of intense competition with rival Boeing across the full spectrum of single-aisle and widebody aircraft markets. The role placed him at the forefront of Airbus's engagement with airlines, lessors, and governments around the world, and involved overseeing order campaigns at major industry events such as the Paris Air Show, Farnborough Airshow, and Dubai Airshow.

CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft

Christian Scherer was subsequently elevated to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Airbus's Commercial Aircraft division, the company's core business unit responsible for the design, manufacture, and delivery of the entire Airbus civil aircraft family, including the A220, A320neo family, A330neo, and A350 programmes. The Commercial Aircraft division constitutes the majority of Airbus's revenue and is the most closely watched part of the company by investors, customers, and industry analysts.

In this role, Scherer oversaw a period of significant activity across the Airbus product line. A recurring theme of his tenure was the challenge of managing the company's industrial ramp-up — the effort to increase production rates of its most popular aircraft, particularly the A320neo family — in the face of persistent supply chain disruptions that affected the entire aerospace manufacturing sector in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. Engine deliveries, raw material availability, and supplier capacity were among the factors constraining Airbus's ability to meet strong customer demand.

A350 Product Strategy

One of the most prominent strategic discussions during Scherer's time as CEO of Commercial Aircraft concerned the potential development of a stretched variant of the A350-1000, the largest member of the A350 widebody family. In November 2025, Scherer publicly confirmed that Airbus was studying a potential larger version of the A350 and said the company was seeing customer interest "everywhere" in such an aircraft.

The discussion of a stretched A350 was strategically significant because it positioned Airbus to compete more directly with the upper end of Boeing's widebody portfolio, particularly the Boeing 777X, and potentially to fill a market segment left open by the retirement of the Airbus A380. Aviation Week reported that Scherer indicated Airbus could build such an aircraft, reflecting confidence in the A350 platform's growth potential. Reuters described the study as part of Airbus's broader effort to ensure its product line covered the full range of airline requirements.

A220 Stretch Discussions

Scherer was also involved in discussions regarding a potential stretch of the Airbus A220, the smaller narrowbody programme that Airbus acquired majority control of from Bombardier. At the November 2025 Dubai Airshow, Scherer addressed the A220 stretch programme, noting the emerging customer consensus around the aircraft's design parameters. The Air Current reported that Scherer commented on engine supplier considerations, stating, "So far we have a Pratt engine, I'd love to have another one," indicating interest in securing a second engine option for the A220 family — a significant strategic consideration given the historical reliance on Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines for the type.

The decisions surrounding the A220 stretch and engine selection were identified by industry analysts as among the key strategic questions facing Airbus's commercial aircraft leadership going forward.

Customer Engagement and Training Initiatives

During his tenure, Scherer maintained an active role in Airbus's relationships with major airline customers worldwide. In September 2025, he participated in the launch of a pilot training hub in Gurugram, India, established in partnership with Air India. The event was attended by India's Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Air India Managing Director and CEO Campbell Wilson, reflecting the strategic importance Airbus placed on the Indian market, one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world.

Succession and Departure

On 10 July 2025, Airbus announced that Lars Wagner, then Chief Executive Officer of MTU Aero Engines AG based in Munich, would succeed Christian Scherer as CEO of the Commercial Aircraft business, effective 1 January 2026. The announcement was made through an official Airbus press release and was widely covered in the aviation and business press.

Aviation Business News reported that Scherer would remain in his post until the end of 2025, ensuring a period of continuity before the handover to Wagner. The French business newspaper La Tribune characterized the leadership change as a significant development — a "coup de théâtre" — at Airbus, reflecting the high profile of the Commercial Aircraft CEO role within the company and the broader industry.

Leeham News and Analysis noted that the incoming CEO would face several major challenges, including ongoing supply chain issues, decisions on the A220 stretch programme, and considerations regarding open fan engine technology for future aircraft — issues that had been part of the landscape during Scherer's leadership.

Personal Life

Christian Scherer holds both German and French nationality. He was born in Duisburg, Germany, and has spent much of his career based in France, particularly in Toulouse, the headquarters city of Airbus. Publicly available information about his personal life beyond his professional activities is limited. Scherer is known to be fluent in multiple languages, consistent with his binational background and the multilingual working environment of Airbus.

Legacy

Christian Scherer's career at Airbus spanned a period of significant transformation for the European manufacturer. His appointment as Chief Commercial Officer in 2018 came during a time of leadership instability, and his subsequent elevation to CEO of Commercial Aircraft placed him at the centre of the company's efforts to navigate post-pandemic recovery, manage unprecedented demand for new aircraft, and chart the future product strategy for the world's largest commercial aircraft manufacturer by deliveries.

His public discussions of potential new aircraft variants — including a stretched A350 and an A220-500 — contributed to shaping industry expectations about Airbus's product roadmap during a period of intense competition with Boeing. The supply chain challenges that defined much of his tenure as CEO of Commercial Aircraft remained a central concern for his successor, underscoring the structural nature of those difficulties across the aerospace manufacturing sector.

The attention paid to his succession by industry publications and the characterization of his replacement as a major event by La Tribune reflected the significance of the role he occupied and the decisions made under his leadership.