17 Mar 2003
Sir Richard Evans, Chairman BAE Systems today said on the sad news of the death of Jean-Luc Lagardre;
"Jean-Luc Lagardre was a great industrialist and a close personal friend. He was in the vanguard of Anglo-French defence industrial co-operation, starting with the Martel missile programme in the late 1960s. In the early 1990s, it was his vision that gave birth to two ground-breaking Anglo-French joint ventures, Matra Marconi Space and Matra BAe Dynamics. By the late 1990s, with the creation of Aerospatiale Matra and then of EADS, Jean-Luc was the leading player in the consolidation of the continental European industry, and hence in the creation of the Airbus single company that we have today.
"The European aerospace and defence industry owes a great deal to Jean-Luc's vision and determination. He was also a man of great warmth and charm, whom I will miss personally as a colleague and a friend."
About BAE SYSTEMS:
BAE Systems is a systems company, innovating for a safer world. BAE Systems employs nearly 100,000 people including Joint Ventures, and has annual sales of around 12 billion. The company offers a global capability in air, sea, land and space with a world-class prime contracting ability supported by a range of key skills. BAE Systems designs, manufactures and supports military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, guided weapon systems and a range of other defence products. BAE Systems is dedicated to making the intelligent connections needed to deliver innovative solutions.
