Airbus has appointed Dr. Thomas Toepfer, 50, to succeed Dominik Asam, 53, as chief financial officer (CFO). Toepfer, currently CFO of Covestro AG – a DAX40 company and one of the world’s leading suppliers of premium polymers – will join Airbus on 1 September 2023. Dominik Asam will leave Airbus on 3 March. Xavier Tardy, executive vice president Finance for Airbus Defence and Space, will ensure continuity during the interim period in addition to his current role.

“We are very pleased to have Thomas joining Airbus as CFO at this important time for the Company. Thomas is a highly regarded CFO in the DAX40 and I am looking forward to working with him on the Airbus Executive Committee as we continue to ramp-up production and secure our long-term ambitions in a complex operating environment,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO. “I sincerely thank Dominik for everything he has brought to Airbus. Together with his team he helped the Company navigate the most severe crisis of its history, ensuring we are well positioned to manage the recovery and prepare our sustainable future. I wish Dominik all the best for his new challenges at SAP.”
As CFO, Toepfer will report to Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury and become a member of the Airbus Executive Committee. Toepfer has been Covestro’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since April 2018 and additionally holds the position of labor Director since January 2019. Before joining Covestro, he was Chief Financial Officer of KION Group, a leading provider of materials handling and warehouse automation solutions. Since January 2022, Toepfer has also been a member of the shareholder committee and Supervisory Board of CLAAS KGaA mbH, a leading global manufacturer of agricultural machinery. Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1972, Toepfer holds a PhD in Business Administration from Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management (WHU), Koblenz.
Airbus decarbonisation targets validated by SBTi
Airbus has received approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its greenhouse gas emissions near-term reduction targets. In 2022, Airbus officially committed to defining science-based targets for the entire set of its emissions and submitted near-term targets that have now been independently assessed and validated by the SBTi.
As part of this commitment, Airbus intends to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 industrial emissions by up to 63 percent by 2030, in line with a 1.5°C pathway. The company also committed to reducing by 46 percent the greenhouse gas emissions intensity generated by its commercial aircraft in service (Scope 3 – Use of Sold Product) by 2035. Both targets are based on the 2015 year as a baseline and in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, said, “At Airbus we are committed to leading the decarbonisation of the aerospace sector. The independent assessment and validation of SBTi demonstrates our willingness to define meaningful climate targets aligned with science. Together with our partners and customers, we are determined to achieve these targets and invest in the solutions that will help decarbonise our industry and ensure aviation can continue to play its precious role in society.”
Established in 2015, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) helps companies to set emissions-reduction targets in line with climate science and the Paris Agreement goals. The SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). More than 4,000 companies worldwide have joined the initiative since its inception.