Finmeccanica's Chairman and CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini is named "Person of the Year" by Aviation Week and Space Technology." Dr. Guarguaglini is the first person in the 89 year history of Aviation Week selected for this special honor. This podcast reviews the remarkable career of the Finmeccanica CEO and Chairman.
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AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY NAMES FINMECCANICA’S CHAIRMAN AND CEO PIER FRANCESCO GUARGUAGLINI ‘PERSON OF THE YEAR 2005’
WASHINGTON, DC, January 3, 2006 – Editors at Aviation Week & Space Technology, the leading international trade magazine for the aviation industry, named Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini as ‘Person of the Year 2005.’ Mr. Guarguaglini was selected from a group of aerospace and defense leaders including U.S. Senator John McCain, BAE Systems CEO Mike Turner, NASA administrator Michael Griffin and Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney. The magazine’s editors based their decision on the impact the individual had in the past year on the aviation, aerospace and defense community.
The article describes Mr. Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, who was named Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica in 2002, as, “a global market force repeatedly defying conventional wisdom and shaking up the aerospace industry on both sides of the Atlantic.” Mr. Guarguaglini has had, “quick success where for others it has been a trying undertaking.” He has done so, “by winning contracts that at times seemed unwinnable.”
One of Mr. Guarguaglini’s biggest achievements over the past year was the sale of the AgustaWestland US101 helicopter to the U.S. presidential service. AgustaWestland is a Finmeccanica-owned company. Finmeccanica is pursuing other US contracts, including bidding the Agusta AB139 as a US Army Light Utility Helicopter, the US 101 as an Air Force combat search and rescue helicopter and the C-27J as a small tactical transport for the FCA (Future Cargo Aircraft) program. In 2005, Finmeccanica’s aircraft subsidiary, Alenia Aeronautica, also broke ground on a production facility in South Carolina to work on the fuselage of the Boeing 787.
“2005 was a great year for Finmeccanica in the US and around the world. We are pleased that Mr. Guarguaglini’s great successes and vision for growth are being recognized by such a prestigious publication,” said Dr. Stephen Bryen, president of Finmeccanica, Inc., U.S.A. “In the past it has been hard for European defense contractors to compete for high-profile US Pentagon programs, but we are changing that by bringing the best products to market and winning contracts. Under Mr. Guarguaglini’s leadership, we look forward to expanding our presence even more and creating new high technology jobs in the US in 2006.”
To learn more about Aviation Week Space & Technology’s Person of the Year Finmeccanica’s Pier Francesco Guarguaglini please go to http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst.jsp. Aviation Week Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is the largest multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries. Aviation Week & Space Technology is considered the best-read industry publication covering technology, business and operations in the commercial, military and space markets.
Stan Yackel, Deputy General Manager and Program Manager for Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS) discusses the U.S. Army need for a modern tactical transport aircraft. The robust, proven C-27J more than fulfills the Army's requirement and will help revolutionize tactical operations in far flung places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The predecessor aircraft, the C-27A is in the U.S. inventory and has served the Air Force admirably for more than 15 years. Today the C-27A is used for special operations and has been used for diverse missions including hurricane relief where it was the only aircraft, fixed or rotary wing, that could land supplies and take out survivors in a difficult jungle environment.
GMAS is a joint venture between Alenia North America Inc., a Finmeccanica company, and L-3 Communications Integrated Systems in Greenville, Texas.
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ALENIA NORTH AMERICA
Alenia North America Inc. is headquartered in Washington D.C. with offices in Seattle, Long Beach, and Fort Worth Alenia North America - Canada, Co., a subsidiary wholly owned by Alenia North America, Inc., also has an office in Ottawa, Canada. A wholly owned subsidiary of Alenia Aeronautica employing a workforce of over 300, Alenia North America's mission is to consolidate and expand the industrial and commercial presence of the Alenia Group in North America. It is the company utilized for major aeronautical programs and collaborative Joint Ventures with top-level U.S. companies. Headquartered in Rome, Alenia Aeronautica is a company of the Finmeccanica Group. Alenia Aeronautica has revenues in excess of 1.2 billion Euros and a total work force of more than 8,600 employees. Its main activities comprise design and production of commercial and military aircraft; design and production of aerostructures for military and civil aircraft through Aeronavali, a wholly owned subsidiary; and the overall maintenance and modification of military and civil aircraft. Alenia Aeronautica is a partner of the major global aerospace groups, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, EADS, Dassault, BAE Systems and Vought.
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS INTEGRATED SYSTEMS
L-3/IS is an internationally recognized system integration organization specializing in the modernization and maintenance of aircraft of all sizes, as well as the study , design, development, and integration of special mission systems for military and commercial applications. The company has modified more than 15,000 different aircraft of more than 125 types. Headquartered in Greenville, Texas, L-3/IS operates from multiple sites in Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama and Australia. Based in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading provider of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services and is a merchant supplier of a broad range of high technology products. Clients include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, selected U.S. Government intelligence agencies and aerospace prime contractors.
On 16th December 2005 in Rome, MBDA France and AVIO signed a production contract for the Aster 30 missile booster and the tail fins for the Aster 15 and Aster 30 missile. This contract fulfils a requirement of the Aster Phase 3 contract signed with OCCAR in 2003. 
The contract, worth an approximate EUR 180 million, was signed between MBDA France and AVIO as the responsibility for Aster's booster and tail fin rests with MBDA France in line with agreed Franco-Italian programme sharing responsibilities.
This collaboration, initiated some ten years ago between MBDA and AVIO with contracts first for Aster Phase 2 and then for Aster PAAMS, has been reinforced by this latest agreement between the two companies.
Aster 15 and Aster 30 are destined for the SAAM(employing Aster 15 for the navies of France and Italy ), PAAMS (employing Aster 15 and 30 for the navies of France, Italy and the UK ) and SAMP-T (employing Aster 30 for the armed forces of France and Italy ) naval and ground-based air defence programmes.
Franco Lucidi, Group Purchasing Director, said: "This contract signing represents a new step forward in fulfilling the requirements of the Aster Phase 3 programme and new evidence of efficient European collaboration".
Pier Giuliano Lasagni, Director of AVIO's Space Division, under whose responsibility the launch systems and fins are produced, said "this programme confirms AVIO's European technological leadership in the field of missile propulsion systems as well as that of space launchers".
In June 2005, MBDA signed a production contract with Thales Air Systems for the Aster seeker at the Paris Air show. This contract was also in furtherance of the Aster Phase 3 programme.
BACKGROUND NOTES:
--OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coop?ration en mati?re d'ARmement) awarded the EUR 3 billion FSAF (Future Surface to Air Family of missiles) Phase 3 contract on 12 November 2003.
--The contract covers the series production of 18 Land-based Medium Range Ground-to-Air (SAMP/T) systems and associated Aster 30 missiles for the French and Italian armed forces. The contract also covers the supply of Aster missiles for the SAAM Fr, SAAM It and PAAMS systems for the (French navy) aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the (Italian navy's) future aircraft carrier Andrea Doria and the future (two navies') Horizon-class frigates.
--In addition, the contract also covers the production and supply of Aster 15 and 30 missiles required for the Royal Navy's PAAMS systems on the new Daring class of Type 45 destroyers.
With an annual turnover exceeding EUR 3 billion, a forward order book of over EUR 13 billion and over 70 customers world wide, MBDA is a world leading, global missile systems company. MBDA currently has 45 missile system and countermeasure programmes in operational service and has proven its ability as prime contractor to head major multi-national projects. MBDA is jointly owned by BAE Systems (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and Finmeccanica (25%).
Avio is present in Italy and abroad with 14 industrial and office locations, and 4,800 employees. It operates in four sectors of activity: modules and components for aero engines, civil and military engine MRO, space and aero-derivative turbines for marine applications. In 2004, it had a turnover of 1,220 million euros. The AVIO group is controlled by private equity fund Carlyle (USA) (70%) and Finmeccanica (30%).
Scott Rettig, CEO of Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems talks about Selex technologies including the Hostile Artillery Locating System, Targeting systems for the Joint Strike fighter, and protection systems against the MANPAD threat.
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~Picture of HALO~
Steve Moss, CEO of AgustaWestland North America talks about AgustaWestland initiatives in the United States and the US-139 helicopter produced by AgustaWestland to meet the Army requirement for a new Light Utility Helicopter.
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