EADS North America Completes Its Board of Directors; Influential EADS North America Board Represents Continued Commitment to Meeting U.S. Customer Requirements

Business Wire, Sept 22, 2003

Business Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2003

EADS North America, the U.S. holding company for EADS - the second largest aerospace company in the world - Wednesday announced that its Board of Directors has reached its full complement. The Board is complete with the addition of Rear Admiral Gerald F. Woolever, USCG (Ret.), who was elected this week.

The Board consists of 13 individuals knowledgeable about EADS and the U.S. market, and is led by Chairman of the Board Ralph Crosby and Vice Chairman Manfred von Nordheim. Seven of the Board members also serve full-time roles for EADS or EADS business units, while six hold posts outside of EADS.

The Board of Directors is structured to correspond to all of the sectors in which EADS is active, including defense, homeland security, telecommunications, services, and space. The Board's expertise is broad-based, and matches market requirements with capability and background.

Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich, the CEOs of EADS stated: "EADS is committed to providing the most advanced, high-quality products and systems for the U.S. market, and also for assembling the most prominent and respected teams in the industry. We are proud to have such a distinguished group on the EADS North America Board, and view the Board's creation as another step in our long-term commitment to the U.S. market and becoming a valued U.S. corporate citizen."

"When we consolidated EADS's U.S. activities under the EADS North America holding company earlier this year, we made a commitment to assemble an experienced and knowledgeable group of individuals to represent and continually build momentum for EADS in North America," said EADS North America Chairman and CEO Ralph Crosby. "Through a thorough process, we now have delivered on that promise. I am pleased to welcome this group of influential and experienced professionals to the EADS North America Board."

Crosby continued, "EADS North America's strategy is to be a key player in the U.S. aerospace and defense industry over the long term, and this board is an important building block in our strategy. It provides EADS North America with a concentrated, collective experience, including executive know-how, government experience and knowledge of the Defense Department, transatlantic business and political expertise, and an intense strategic knowledge base."

At the last Board of Directors' meeting in May 2003, EADS North America elected General James P. McCarthy, USAF (Ret.) and Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, USN (Ret.) to the Board. Rear Admiral Gerald Woolever, USCG (Ret.), was elected at today's meeting, officially completing the Board.

The completed EADS Board of Directors is comprised of:

-- Ralph D. Crosby, Jr. serves as Chairman and CEO of EADS North

America and a member of the EADS Executive Committee. Crosby

assumed leadership of EADS' North American activities and took

his seat on the Executive Committee of EADS on 1 September

2002. Previously, Crosby was President of the Integrated

Systems Sector of Northrop Grumman Corporation, a position he

held since establishing the Sector in 1998. Prior to his

industry career, Crosby served as an officer in the U.S. Army

with duty in Germany, Vietnam and the United States. Crosby

earned a Bachelor of Science at the United States Military

Academy, a Master's Degree in Public Administration from

Harvard University, and a Master's Degree in International

Affairs from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

-- Manfred von Nordheim serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of

Directors of EADS North America and Senior Advisor to Ralph D.

Crosby, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EADS

North America. He previously served as Chairman and Chief

Executive Officer of EADS, Inc., the U.S. corporate offices of

the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).

Before the creation of EADS, von Nordheim was President of

DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of North America, Inc. Von Nordheim

holds a graduate degree from the Freie Universitat Berlin, a

Master of Arts in political science from Kent State

University, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of

California, Santa Barbara.

-- Fabrice Bregier was appointed President and CEO of Eurocopter

in April 2003. He joins Eurocopter after having led since

January 1998 MBDA, the premier European missile and missile

systems manufacturer. Bregier joined the Ladardere Group's

Matra defense in 1993, working on the GIE Apache program, as

well as the GIE Eurodrone project. Prior to this, he served as

a technical advisor to the French Minister of Foreign Trade

and worked extensively with the French Department of Industry.

-- Ambassador Richard Burt serves as Chairman of Diligence LLC, a

commercial information and security services firm based in

Washington, DC, London and Miami. He also is an International

Director of the Washington-based government affairs firm,

Barbour, Griffith and Rogers and serves as an advisor to the

Carlyle Group, a private equity investment firm. In addition,

Mr. Burt serves as Chairman of the Board of Weirton Steel, the