Thales announced on 8 January 2023 that it has appointed Christoph Ruffner as CEO and country director for Thales Germany, effective from 1 January. He succeeds Oliver Dörre, who left the company on 31 December 2023.
In his new role Ruffner will report to Philippe Duhamel, Thales executive vice president for Defence Mission Systems.
Ruffner joins Thales from Hensoldt, where he was recently head of the Spectrum Dominance & Airborne Solutions Division. In this function he was a member of the Executive Committee of Hensoldt AG. Ruffner previously held various management positions in the Airbus Group, which included sales, development, transformation and staff activities as well as the management of an Airbus subsidiary.
“Christoph Ruffner is a highly experienced manager who has already successfully mastered major challenges at Hensoldt with his many years of experience in the defence segment and his proximity to customers,” Bernhard Gerwert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Thales Germany, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “We are delighted that Thales has been able to recruit him for this strategic position.”
