Stefano Villanti has been named as the new managing director (MD) of Leonardo Helicopters, following Gian Piero Cutillo’s recent promotion to co-general manager of parent company Leonardo.
Villanti has been in various senior leadership positions at the airframe manufacturer over the last decade, most recently leading its sales, marketing and contracts teams for the last three years.
“Leonardo is a major global player in the rotorcraft industry — a sector that, like much of the wider aerospace, defence and security landscape, is navigating a period of considerable change,” said Villanti. “This environment calls for a balanced approach: continuity in execution and performance, combined with a careful assessment of longer-term priorities and the opportunities most valuable to maintaining and strengthening Leonardo’s competitiveness.
“With customers at the center of everything we do, we will place acceleration in execution and innovation at the core of how we work, while continuing to enhance quality. We are fully committed to delivering on these priorities, drawing on the expertise, dedication and enthusiasm of everyone across the division.”
Lorenzo Mariani, CEO and general manager of Leonardo, said the company is committed to strengthening its helicopter division, which he said was increasingly benefitting from synergies across the organization.
“This will allow us to rapidly understand, adapt to and respond to evolving requirements, anticipating new trends both in terms of innovation and operational needs,” he said. “I wish Stefano Villanti, in his new role, and his team continued success to achieve further growth and new global competitiveness objectives.”
Cutillo had been the longest-tenured of the CEOs at the major helicopter airframe manufacturers, having been in post since 2017.
