Paris, July 2, 2024 - At the close of yesterday's Annual General Meeting, the new Board of Directors of GICAT (Groupement des Industrie Françaises de Défense et de Sécurité terrestres et aéroterrestres) elected Nicolas CHAMUSSY Chairman of GICAT. The group's fourteenth chairman, he takes up his post today for a two-year term, renewable once.
He succeeds Marc DARMON, Senior Vice-President Europe at Thales, whose involvement and actions on behalf of the defense and security industry during his two terms and four years as Chairman were unanimously praised by all members and by his successor, who declared: "I am honored by the confidence that GICAT members have shown in me by electing me to the presidency of our group, at a key moment for our sector, marked by the dynamics of the war economy and the contribution to securing the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I'm looking forward to putting my energy into our collective priorities: the development of our air-land DTIB, the security industry and its entire supply chain, the strengthening of our positioning on a European scale as well as on the export market, special efforts on cyber issues and the enhancement of our CSR efforts."
Nicolas CHAMUSSY, a graduate of Ecole polytechnique, Ecole nationale supérieure des techniques avancées (ENSTA) and IEP de Paris, began his career in 1992 in the United States, at Philips Laboratory (United States Air Force). In 1993, he joined the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), where he was deputy director of the Osiris program, then technical advisor to the Minister of Defense for industrial affairs, procurement and research programs.
In 1997, he joined the Budget Department of the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry, in charge of the energy sector (EDF, GDF, CEA, IFP, etc.). He then moved to the industrial sector, where he held various general management and program positions at EADS in the space (Astrium) and defense (Cassidian) branches. In 2012, he was promoted to Chief of Staff to the CEO of the AIRBUS Group. In 2016, he was appointed Director of Airbus Defence & Space. On April 1, 2021, he became Managing Director of KNDS France, a member of the KNDS Group Executive Committee and responsible for operations (production, supply chain and purchasing). He is an Officer of the Légion d'honneur and an Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite.
GICAT, a trade association founded in 1978, has over 480 members. Large groups, ETIs, SMEs and start-ups, its members cover a wide spectrum of industrial, research, service and consultancy activities for the benefit of military and civilian, national and international components involved in ground and air-land defense and/or security.
GICAT's international reach is also supported by the international trade shows EUROSATORY in France and ExpoDefensa in Colombia, organized by its subsidiary COGES EVENTS, as well as by the French pavilions at international defense and/or security trade shows.
Press contacts :
Delphine SAMPIC
Communications Director
06 77 34 94 05
