Following a board of directors meeting on 26 November 2025 the directors of French Land and Airland Defence and Security Industries Association GICAT (Groupement des Industries Françaises de Défense et de Sécurité terrestres et aéroterrestres) elected Emmanuel Levacher as the group’s new chairman. He becomes the 15 chair and will serve until the next General Meeting, scheduled for 8 July 2026.
Levacher succeeds Nicolas Chamussy, former managing director of KNDS France, “whose commitment to the industry has been unanimously praised by members and his successor alike”, GICAT stated.
Levacher has said his intention is to “continue with the strategy currently being implemented, with a focus on openness, high standards and pragmatism. This is particularly important in an uncertain political context, which requires increased vigilance with regard to the possible consequences of budgetary constraints or decisions that could have a negative impact on the land and air-land sector”.
A graduate of Columbia University (1982), the École de Management de Lyon (1985), IEP Paris (1987) and INSEAD (1998 and 2022), Levacher has a solid international background. He began his career in 1989 at Renault Trucks, where he held successive positions in export financing, international zone management and then as head of the company’s subsidiary in the Czech Republic. From 2002 to 2008 he held several management positions related to the company’s intermediate range of vehicles, partnerships and international operations. In 2008, he joined Renault SAS as director of sales and marketing for Asia and Africa, before being appointed director of international affairs at Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles in India in 2014.
Levacher has been managing director of Arquus since 2015. He is also a Knight of the Legion of Honour.
Founded in 1978, GICAT now has more than 480 members – large groups, mid-sized companies, SMEs and start-ups – covering a wide range of industrial, technological, research, service and consulting activities for military and civilian players in land and air-land defence and security sectors, both in France and internationally.
GICAT’s influence is also based on two major international trade shows, Eurosatory (France) and ExpoDefensa (Colombia), organised by its subsidiary COGES Events, as well as the numerous French pavilions it brings together around the world.
