Embraer has decided to reintegrate its commercial aircraft business with the rest of the company following the collapsed deal to sell 80 percent of the division to Boeing, the Brazilian manufacturer said in a statement issued Monday. Simultaneously, Embraer Commercial Aircraft CEO John Slattery will leave the company to become CEO-elect of GE Aviation effective July 13. Slattery replaces retiring GE chief executive David Joyce on September 1; Joyce has agreed stay on as non-executive chairman and vice chairman of GE through the end of the year. Slattery’s replacement at Embraer, Arjan Meijer, has accepted that position effective immediately.
Before the failed deal with Boeing, plans called for Slattery to essentially continue his role as head of a new division known as Boeing Brasil. Until Monday, Embraer hadn’t said whether or not it would reintegrate the division, although on June 1 company CEO Francisco Gomes Neto confirmed the company’s interest in discussions with more than two potential partners for its commercial aircraft business.
Meijer, 47, has served as chief commercial officer of Embraer Commercial Aviation since January 2017. In his role as CCO, he has led global marketing and sales functions across six different regions, helping the company to achieve 35 airline deals. He joined the company in April 2016 as vice president of Commercial Aviation for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Russia.
Before joining Embraer, Arjan spent 15 years in various executive roles at the KLM Group, including v-p of technical services and fleet development at KLM regional subsidiary KLM Cityhopper and managing director at KLM UK Engineering in Norwich.
Slattery has led Embraer Commercial Aviation since July 2016, and before then he served as the business unit’s chief commercial officer since November 2012. During his tenure at Embraer Commercial Aviation, the E-Jet installed base doubled, the number of operators grew by 45 percent, the unit backlog grew by 36 percent, and the number of countries operating the E-Jet increased by 39 percent.
“John has played a central role at Embraer during a challenging time, and we thank him for his dedication and tireless service to the company, as well as its customers, employees, and partners,” said Embraer chairman Alexandre Silva. “Fortunately, the industry will keep counting on him as he will continue to work in the aviation sector.”