Dr Johannes Bussmann (55) is to become the new CEO of MTU Aero Engines AG. This was unanimously decided by the supervisory board of the DAX-listed company at an extraordinary meeting yesterday evening. The contract term will be for five years.
Johannes Bussmann is expected to take up his new role in the course of 2025. He is currently CEO of TÜV Süd AG. Prior to that, the aerospace engineer, who holds a doctorate in aerospace engineering, spent seven years leading maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist Lufthansa Technik. He has been a member of the MTU Supervisory Board since 2024 and will now succeed Lars Wagner at the helm of the company. At the end of October, Wagner announced that he would not be available for an additional term of office after his mandate, which runs until the end of 2025, in order to take on a new professional challenge as CEO of the commercial aircraft division at Airbus. Bussmann will resign from the MTU Supervisory Board in turn.
“We are delighted that, in Johannes Bussmann, we have been able to find an outstanding aviation expert with close ties to MTU to succeed as CEO,” says Gordon Riske, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MTU Aero Engines AG. “After a record year in 2024, he will continue the profitable growth and transformation of the company and successfully lead MTU into the future.”
“I would like to thank the Supervisory Board for the trust it has placed in me and I look forward to the opportunity to continue MTU's success story with the Executive Board,” says Bussmann. “The company has a successful business model, excellent prospects and a great, value-based culture.”
Johannes Bussmann holds a degree in aerospace engineering and a doctorate in combustion technology from RWTH Aachen University. He took over as CEO of TÜV Süd AG in Munich at the beginning of 2023. Prior to that, he spent more than two decades in various management positions at Lufthansa Technik, serving as Chief Human Resources and Production Officer from 2012 and as CEO from 2015. In this role, he played a key role in the 2017 establishment of EME Aero in Rzeszów, Poland, an engine MRO joint venture between MTU and Lufthansa Technik.
“Johannes Bussmann, an experienced aviation industry professional, has been a trusted advisor to MTU for many years. We know, respect and appreciate each other and we will ensure a smooth transition between us,” adds CEO Lars Wagner. The exact date Wagner’s responsibilities will be transferred to his successor will be announced in due course.
