Éric Trappier, current chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, has been chosen to lead Dassault’s corporate group upon the retirement of Charles Edelstenne on January 9, 2025.
Groupe Dassault consists of several enterprises beyond Dassault Aviation, including Dassault Systèmes, Le Figaro (media and services), Immobilière Dassault (real estate), Dassault Wine Estates (including Saint-Émilion, France-based Château Dassault), and Artcurial (auction house).
Edelstenne rose to lead the French conglomerate on May 28, 2018, following the death of Serge Dassault. Trappier comes into the position having longtime experience with the company. He served as executive vice president, international directorate, leading the company’s successful bid to sell the Mirage 2000-9 fighter to the United Arab Emirates in 1998, as well as the selection of the Rafale fighter following India’s Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft RFP in 2012.
Trappier graduated from Telecom SudParis academy for engineers and then served in the French Navy as an officer. He joined Dassault Aviation in 1984 as a systems engineer in the business unit’s design department. Currently, he also serves as chairman of Dassault Falcon Jet, and he’s a member of the French Légion d’Honneur and Knight of the Ordre National du Mérite.
Dassault Aviation certified the Falcon 6X in 2023 under Trappier’s leadership and continues development of the Falcon 10X with certification anticipated in 2025.
