New appointments to the AFI KLM E&M Executive Committee

On the 1st of January 2022, Bruno Tricoire and Nicolas Bertrand joined the Group Engineering & Maintenance Executive Committee as SVP Components and SVP Industrial Affairs & Projects respectively. In the meantime, former SVP Components Benjamin Moreau has been named as the new SVP Strategy & Business Development – a role he takes over from Johann Panier, who leaves to take the lead of the Air France Fleet as SVP Fleet Management.

Announcing the appointments, Anne Brachet, EVP Air France-KLM Engineering & Maintenance, remarked: “I would like to acknowledge and extend our warmest thanks to Johann Panier for his devotion and tireless hard work in the role of SVP Strategy & Business Development, and prior to that as CEO of BARFIELD, AFI KLM E&M’s flagship brand in the USA. Through his unwavering commitment, Johann made major contributions to the development of the Group’s networks, products and services, and their ability to meet the needs of our customers. We wish him nothing but success in all his future projects with Air France!

I would also like to extend my best wishes to his successor, Benjamin Moreau, as well as to our two new arrivals to the E&M executive team: Bruno Tricoire and Nicolas Bertrand. Their impressive career paths, experience and talents are already well-known and appreciated, and will be precious assets as we enter a period of significant challenges for the Engineering & Maintenance business. We have every confidence in their success.”

An alumnus of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace, Benjamin Moreau began his career as a consultant at A.T. Kearney, before joining AFI KLM E&M in 2002. He started out as a project manager in the Avionics division, going on to assume various responsibilities including Sales Director for Key Accounts and Head of Customer Services for Components. In 2014 he was named CEO of CRMA, an AFI KLM E&M affiliate specialising in components repair and engine module overhaul, where revenues doubled over the course of his four years in the post. In 2018 he was named SVP Components at AFI KLM E&M.

“I am honoured to be entrusted with this role to better serve our customers. The AFI KLM E&M global network is a cornerstone of our promise of service efficiency, responsiveness and proximity. To achieve the best for airlines in the future requires anticipating long-term trends along with combining the best of our own Airline MRO experience and of key stakeholders in the industry. We are focused on pursuing the enhancement of our adaptive solutions by forming the partnerships needed and by structuring our strategy around new products and services to suit the needs of airlines, wherever they are in the world.”

A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and of the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Bruno Tricoire began his career at AFI KLM E&M in 2004 as a Logistics Methods Manager. After occupying various roles in Engine Product Sales, Engine and Airframe Maintenance, in 2015 he was named CEO of iGO Solutions, a structure dedicated to line maintenance/light maintenance for the Airbus A350/A330 and Boeing 737 fleets at Paris-Orly. Since 2018 he has been VP Base Maintenance for Air France Industries at Charles de Gaulle airport.

“I am delighted by this appointment, and eager to tackle the challenges awaiting AFI KLM E&M vis-a-vis Component Products. As an airline-MRO, we perfectly understand the issues faced by the airlines with the progressive return to operations. In the short term, we are committed to providing them with dynamic and high-performance support during this particular time. In the longer term, we will continue to expand or adjust our range of services in order to meet the evolving needs of operators, to pursue our development efforts via new industrial capabilities, and to maintain and develop the localized services we offer our customers via our global workshop network.”

A graduate of the ISAE-ENSMA and holder of an HEC Executive Certificate, Nicolas Bertrand began his career at Air France in 1987 as a Boeing 747 fleet maintenance engineer. In 1995 he participated in the creation of the Air France Fleet Management Division, going on to oversee the integration of various new aircraft (including the 777-300ER and Boeing 777 Cargo). In 2011 he was named Long Haul Fleet Director, a role that would involve preparing for the arrival of the Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350-900. In 2017, he became SVP Air France Fleet and was one of the key decision makers for the rationalization of the Long Haul fleet and the choice of the A220 for the progressive replacement of the A318 and A319.

“It is with the utmost enthusiasm that I join the Engineering & Maintenance branch of the Air France-KLM Group. As its name suggests, Industrial Affairs & Projects focuses its efforts and attention in two main areas. The first is ensuring the maintenance and development of quality, mutually beneficial relationships with the various actors who make up the fabric of the industry we are evolving within. The second involves acting as a facilitator in the initiation, deployment and implementation of key AFI KLM E&M projects, all while ensuring their suitability and relevance vis-a-vis the expectations of stakeholders in the aviation ecosystem.”