Eric Trappier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dassault Aviation

 Eric Trappier has been Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation since January 9, 2013, succeeding Charles Edelstenne. He is the fifth CEO of the company since 1945. 

Previously, Eric Trappier had served as Executive Vice-President, International Directorate. He has been instrumental in concluding the sale of the Mirage 2000-9 fighter aircraft to the United Arab Emirates in 1998 and in the selection of the Rafale fighter for India’s Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition in January 2012. 

In September 2016, Eric Trappier successfully reached an agreement for delivering the Rafale fighter to India. He had achieved two Rafale contracts in 2015, with Egypt and Qatar respectively (Qatar acquired an additional 12 Rafale in 2017). In 2015, the new flagship of the Falcon Family, the ultra-long range Falcon 8X, also made its maiden flight. The first Falcon 8X was delivered in 2016. 

In addition to military sales, Eric Trappier has been responsible for negotiating military industrial cooperation agreements, notably the European nEUROn unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), undertaken with Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Greece. He played a key role in launching the current European UCAV study in cooperation with BAE Systems of the UK. 

After his military service in the French Navy as an officer, Eric Trappier joined Dassault Aviation in 1984 as a system engineer at the design office. In 1987, he was assigned to the military exports’ technical support. In 1991, he was put in charge of military sales for Asia. He became Vice-President, military aircraft sales, for the Middle East and Africa in 2000, and took over the worldwide military exports position a year later. 

Eric Trappier graduated from Paris’ “Sud Telecom” school for engineers. 

He is Officer of the French Légion d’Honneur and Knight of the Ordre National du Mérite. 

He is Chairman of Dassault Falcon Jet and a member of the board of Thales, in which Dassault Aviation is a 25% shareholder. 

He is Chairman of the French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS), also Chairman of the Conseil des Industries de Défense Françaises (CIDEF) and a member of the Cercle de l’Industrie association. 

He is Chairman of the European Aerospace and Defense Industries Association (ASD). 

Eric Trappier was born in 1960. He is married and has three children. 

His hobbies include golfing, sailing and various cultural interests, notably history and opera.