Coleal leaves Bombardier Aviation
As a talented college baseball short-stop* David Coleal has always been good at defence. When he returned to Bombardier as President of Business Aircraft in 2015 he had to do a lot of it. The company was in real trouble due to problems with the C-Series (now A220) and he was forced to make tough decisions, including cancelling the Learjet 85 programme.
He is now leaving the Canadian business jet division in a much better state. Under his watch Bombardier delivered the first Global 7500 and launched (and certificated) new Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft. He also invested heavily in services making it a key source of revenue for the company.
When Éric Martel was appointed President and CEO of Bombardier in March 2020, it became likely that Coleal would eventually leave. This week it was announced.
“Our goal is to create a leaner, more agile and customer-centric company to better capture growth opportunities with our industry-leading business jet portfolio,” said Martel, speaking about Coleal this week. “This includes simplifying our corporate leadership structure.”
With Bombardier selling its rail business, Bombardier no longer needs department heads. As Martel is a former President of Bombardier Business Aircraft (and before that Services), he knows he can do the job.
As with his baseball, Coleal – who also held senior positions at Spirit and Cirrus – is unlikely to find himself on the bench for long.
*For fans of the global sport of cricket, the short-stop fields roughly between Silly Mid-On and Mid-Wicket. For some reason they also wear a glove.
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