Embraer Commercial Aviation named Martyn Holmes as its new chief commercial officer Aug. 13 in the latest step of a sequence of leadership transitions at the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer following the departure of president and CEO John Slattery in May.
The choice of Holmes is relevant in the context of Embraer Commercial defining its relationship with and independence from Embraer’s corporate organization after the abandoned takeover by Boeing. Industry sources say that Embraer CEO Francisco Gomez Neto was initially reluctant to name a new head of sales for the commercial aircraft division after the previous chief commercial officer Arjan Meijer had been promoted to the CEO position at the unit. With no dedicated sales chief in place, Meijer would have been stuck in a dual role trying to cover company-wide functions as well as his former position—leaving more room for the group leadership to interfere with commercial aviation matters.
Under Slattery, CEO for four years from 2016, Embraer Commercial has been run in little coordination with corporate headquarters. The carve-out ahead of the planned transition into the Boeing Brazil Commercial joint venture meant the organization cut ties even further, setting up its own independent information technology system, processes and support functions. The degree of freedom that Embraer Commercial enjoyed following reintegration into the group is in the process of being redefined under Meijer.
Holmes has been the company’s VP for Europe, Russia and Central Asia; he joined Embraer in 2012. He will continue to be based in Amsterdam at the company’s head office for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Holmes reports to Meijer.
Embraer is also restructuring the regional sales teams. The Europe sales function will be combined with that for the Middle East and Africa and is filled by Cesar Pereira, who previously worked from Embraer’s Singapore office. The former VP for Middle East and Africa, Raul Villaron, will move to Singapore and as VP Asia Pacific, will be in charge of the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China. Guo Qing is retaining his position as VP China. Former regional VP of sales in North America Mark Neely has been appointed VP of the Americas, covering both American continents.
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