MBDA appoints Airbus' Jean-Brice Dumont as chief executive from November 1

July 15 (Reuters) - European missile maker MBDA said on Wednesday it had appointed Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus's head of military aircraft programmes, as chief executive to replace Eric Beranger from November 1.

The leadership change comes as Europe's largest missile maker ramps up production to meet surging demand driven by the war in Ukraine and a wider rearmament push across the continent.

MBDA is jointly owned by Franco-German Airbus, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Leonardo.

Dumont, who like Beranger is French, is expected to present a strategic roadmap in early 2027, an MBDA spokesperson told Reuters. 

He will build on Beranger's legacy and was already a member of MBDA's board as Airbus' representative, the spokesperson said, adding Dumont had been involved in key management decisions in recent months.

    During Beranger's seven-year tenure, MBDA's order book jumped to €44.4 billion in 2025 from €16.6 billion in 2020 as European governments increased defence spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and concerns about future U.S. security commitments to Europe.

Dumont has led the Air Power business at Airbus Defence and Space since January 2024, having previously headed Military Air System, where he oversaw programmes including the A400M transport aircraft, Eurofighter combat jet and Eurodrone.

"The ability to steer European collaborative programmes is a highly valued skill for us, as it lies at the core of our activities", the MBDA spokesperson said, adding that was one of the reasons Dumont was selected. 

Before his current role, Dumont served as Airbus's executive vice president for engineering, and spent six years as executive vice president for engineering and chief technical officer at Airbus Helicopters.

A licensed French Army aviation pilot, Dumont started his career at France's DGA defence procurement agency in 1996, working on the Tiger and Super Puma helicopter programmes. He is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and ISAE-SUPAERO.

(Reporting by Florence Loève in Paris, Hugo Lhomedet and Zakarya Meliani in Gdansk. Editing by Mark Potter)