The Wings Club Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce that Dr. Thomas (“Tom”) Enders, Chief Executive Officer, Retired, Airbus SE, is the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Award. Acknowledging outstanding accomplishments in the field of aviation, President David Davenport, will present the Wings Club Foundation award on October 18, 2019, at the 77th Annual Awards Gala to be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City.
Tom Enders has been the longest-serving member of the Airbus/EADS Executive Committee – from 2000 until 2019. He held various top management positions during these 19 years, most notably as Chief Executive of EADS and of Airbus between 2005 and 2019. Under his leadership, Airbus went through profound strategy and governance changes and developed into one of the world’s largest and most successful aerospace companies.
Before starting his career in the aerospace industry, Enders worked in the German Ministry of Defense and in various foreign policy think tanks. An economist and political scientist by education, he is also a helicopter pilot and an avid skydiver. He served with the German Airborne troops and left the Army with the rank of Major (Reserve).
Enders is Patron of the Mayday Foundation, which supports airmen and their families in times of need. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Linde Plc and recently was elected President of the prestigious German Society of Foreign Affairs (DGAP).
The Wings Club’s Distinguished Achievement Award has been presented annually since 1975. Notable past recipients include Neil Armstrong, Senator John Glenn, President George H. W. Bush, Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, Frederick Smith, Steven Udvar-Hazy, T. Allan McArtor, and W. James McNerney, Jr., as well as 15 present and former airline CEOs including, Robert Crandall, Herbert Kelleher, Gordon Bethune, Sir Colin Marshall, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Sir Richard Branson, Dave Barger, Gary Kelly and Willie Walsh.
The Wings Club Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Its mission is to focus on initiatives aimed at supporting scholarships for students who will pursue a career in aviation or aerospace, providing programs to educate in the field of aviation, and supporting charitable organizations that use aviation to help those in need. The Wings Club Foundation comprises more than 1,300 members including industry leaders, pilots, professionals in related service organizations, and students of aviation.
Recognizing significant achievements that contribute to the advancement of aviation and aeronautics, The Wings Club Foundation presents not only the Distinguished Achievement Award, but also the Outstanding Aviator Award and the Distinguished Scholar Awards. For more information on The Wings Club Foundation, visit www.wingsclub.org.
