Penelope Jane Basson

Penelope Jane Basson has been Head of Transformation and Corporate Secretary within Airbus Defence and Space since 1 October 2021 and is a member of the Airbus Defence and Space and Executive Committee.

Previously she was Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer of Airbus and Head of People Empowerment in Operations, and before that, Chief of Staff to the CEO.

Jane worked for various law firms and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD in Paris before joining Airbus in 2000. She held various roles in Corporate Communications before being appointed Vice President Internal Communications in 2003. In 2008 she joined Human Resources to develop a culture change programme in support of the company’s business transformation strategy Power8 and was appointed Senior Vice President Leadership Development & Culture Change for the Group in June 2012 when she set up the Airbus Leadership University.

Jane chairs Balance for Business, a federation of Airbus’ different employee resource groups dedicated to building a more inclusive working environment.

Since 2019 she is a member of the Board of Directors of Nexans, a global player in energy transition.

Jane has a degree in International Communications, Journalism and Business Administration from the American University of Paris. Originally South African, Jane (52) has French nationality and lives in Toulouse with her husband and daughter.