Ascendance Flight Technologies, the Toulouse-based start-up specialising in the decarbonisation of aviation, announced that François Caudron, former Senior Vice President Marketing and CMO of Airbus, is now advising the company as Special Advisor .
François Caudron will work alongside the board and the management team to support the commercial development of solutions designed by the aircraft manufacturer. François Caudron, an aeronautical engineer by training, has a thorough knowledge of supply chains and aviation markets at Airbus on the commercial side of emblematic projects. As VP Customer & Business Development in 2007, he represented the A350XWB Programme in front of customers and reciprocally was their voice inside the Programme, which enabled the A350XWB to be particularly customers’ needs-focused. Under his leadership, Airbus’s marketing was also instrumental in the launch of the Airspace cabin brand, among which the A321LR/XLR, ACJ220 and A350 Cargo programmes between 2015 to 2021.
His extensive experience of aviation market requirements, customer needs and ability to work with OEMs to make aircraft solutions evolve is an invaluable asset for Ascendance Flight Technologies, who report 245 Letters of Intent for its 5-seat hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Atea. This aircraft, scheduled for certification in 2025, is equipped with a modular propulsion system (Sterna) developed and patented by Ascendance.
