Nomination of Tom Enders as Chairman of KNDS Board of Directors
Amsterdam, 20 October 2025 – KNDS today announced that Tom Enders will join KNDS Board of Directors as the Group Chairman, effective November 3rd.
Tom Enders, a distinguished European business executive and former aerospace leader, is best known for his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of EADS and Airbus from 2005 to 2019. During his leadership, Airbus became global leader in commercial aviation, consolidated its positionin the defense and space business and multiplied its enterprise value.
Before joining the aerospace industry, Mr. Enders held various policy and research roles, including positions at the German Ministry of Defense and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. Since leaving Airbus, he has remained deeply involved in international business and policy, serving on several corporate boards and advisory groups.
Jean-Paul Alary, CEO of KNDS, commented: “I’m delighted that Tom Enders is joining KNDS as Chairman of the Board. At a time when KNDS is opening a new chapter in its development as a European lead system integrator champion and global leader in land defense, Tom will bring invaluable experience and a clear strategic vision to help us reinforce the Group position at the heart of the industry’s evolving challenges.”
Tom Enders, Chairman-designate of KNDS, said “I’m honored to joinKNDS at such an exciting moment in its journey. As Europe strengthensits defense capabilities, KNDS is uniquely positioned to play a leading role. I look forward to working with the Board and leadership team to building a strong, innovative, and competitive European defense company”.
Press contact
Véronique Creissels
Chief Communications Officer
KNDS N. V.
Gustav Mahlerlaan 1017
Mahler 1000, 3rd floor
The Netherlands
1082 MK Amsterdam
Phon: +31 6 2470 3239
E-Mail : veronique.creissels@knds.nl
www.knds.com
About KNDS
KNDS is a European land defense systems leader with more than 10,000 employees, 2024 turnover of 3.8 billion euro, order backlog of around 23.5 billion euro and order intake of 11.2 billion euro in 2024. As prime contractor and lead system integrator KNDS develop, deliver and sustain state of the art manned and unmanned ‘system-of-systems’, complete mission solutions and its main systems and sub-platforms, including the related ammunitions and services. Its product portfolio encompass main battle tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems, weapons systems, ammunition, robotics, military bridges, customer services, battle management systems, training solutions, protection solutions and a wide range of equipment.
The alliance between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (now KNDS Deutschland) and Nexter (now KNDS France) has been a step forward in the consolidation of the land defense systems industry in Europe. It positions KNDS as a key contributor to European sovereignty, offering European and NATO customers the opportunity of increased standardization and interoperability for their defense equipment, with a dependable and resilient European industrial base. KNDS is the trusted partner of 24 armed forces in Europe and 19 in the rest of the world.
KNDS headquarters are based in Amsterdam.
