CFM International on Wednesday named Gaël Méheust as its new president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Méheust replaces Jean-Paul Ebanga, who had served as CFM president and CEO since February 2011 and has now moved to another position within CFM partner Safran.
The move comes as CFM accelerates production of its strong selling Leap turbofan, the exclusive propulsion system for the Boeing 737 Max and one of two choices for the Airbus A320neo. The Leap also will power the Comac C919, scheduled for first flight by the end of March. Still carrying a backlog of more than 2,500 of the legacy CFM56, the company sold more than 11,000 Leap engines before delivering the first copy to Airbus in 2015. After receiving EASA and FAA certification last May, the first Leap-1A-powered A320neo entered service with Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines in August.

Now, Méheust assumes Ebanga’s challenge of delivering on the company’s production promises during a period of unprecedented delivery rates of narrowbody airplanes.

Most recently serving as vice president of sales and marketing for Safran Aircraft Engines, Méheust will now serve as CFM’s global representative and corporate leader for the integrated management of the GE-Snecma partnership, as well as serve as a key interface between the top management levels at GE and Safran.

After achieving a master’s degree in international business from the University of Rouen, Méheust joined Snecma group member Hispano-Suiza in 1984, and became sales and marketing director for nacelles and thrust reversers two years later.

In 1989, he moved to Cincinnati, wher he served as Snecma’s representative for CFM56 military applications.  He returned to France in 1992 when he accepted a position with Techspace Aero as head of business development in 1992.

Méheust moved to Snecma in 1995 to become part of the commercial engine sales team, holding responsibility for key European accounts. Three years later, the company appointed him its CF6-80 engine program vice president, a position in which he assumed sales responsibility for all large turbofan engine programs.

In 2001, Méheust became Snecma’s CFM representative with Airbus in Toulouse, France, and in 2003 general manager of Airbus Programs at Safran corporate level.

Starting in September 2007 Méheust headed the France and UK engineering business units for Labinal until moving to his most recent position with Safran in March 2010.