Aviation Week's Person of the Year | |
Washington, 03.01.2006
Aviation Week & Space Technology's Person of the Year - the first such feature
in the magazine's 89-year history - is meant not to laud personal achievement
per se, but to recognize the impact individuals have on the broader aviation,
aerospace and defense community.
Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini has done just that
in spades. When he took the helm in 2002, this Italian company seemed
destinated to operate in the shadows of the global aerospace/defense
industry's industrial juggernauts.
But he had other ideas, and in the process of acting on them Guarguaglini
effectively changed the rules of the game, eleveting the company from the
status of an also-ran to a vibrant competitive force.
He was chosen from a field of candidates from around the world by Aviation
Week staff editors. U.S. Sen. John McCain - part maverick, part change agent -
was a close second.
