Jean-Paul Alary to become new CEO of KNDS

Jean-Paul Alary is to become the new CEO of the Franco-German armaments company KNDS (formerly Krauss-Maffei Wegmann+Nexter Defense Systems), effective from 1 April 2025, the company announced on 3 December 2024.

Alary will succeed Frank Haun, who will retire on 15 December after more than nine years in office.

During the transition, Philippe Balducci, group chief financial officer of KNDS, will assume the duties of CEO in addition to his current position.

Alary comes from the French technology group Safran, where he has held various management positions since 1991. He was executive vice president of the Safran Electronics Division for two years until 2015. After moving to Aircraft Engines, he successively became CEO of Safran Nacelles, Safran Landing Systems and, most recently in 2020, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines, which (co-)produces aircraft engines and rocket engines for the aerospace industry with an annual turnover of EUR 8.1 billion.