Claude Terrazzoni, former patron of Airbus and president of the Toulouse CCI is dead
A respected former Airbus boss and former president of the Toulouse Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Claude Terrazzoni died on Wednesday at the age of 86.
It is a very sad news which strikes the aeronautical world of Toulouse. This Wednesday afternoon, Claude Terrazzoni died at the age of 86. This polytechnician also graduated from SupAero Toulouse was a man with a strong character and an always high verb. He was respected in the world of aeronautics, of course, but also in the Toulouse business world. He indeed represented him as president of the Toulouse Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2002-2010) where he was unanimously elected. He also received the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Midi-Pyrénées region.
A career at Airbus
A test and line pilot, Claude Terrazzoni has accumulated more than 6,500 flight hours during his career. This made the Toulouse ecosystem say that when it spoke of planes, it was credible. An engineer at heart, a child, he wanted to understand how things “the simplest or the most complicated” worked. He began his career at the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) and, twelve years later, joined Aerospatiale, where he rose through all the ranks until May 1998. He successively held all the major management positions of this organization. which would become Airbus. First as deputy director, then director of operations and finally director of the Aircraft division and the Aeronautics branch. From 1998 to 2002 he was advisor to the president of Airbus Industrie, Noël Forgeard. Claude Terrazzonni himself declared to La Dépêche: “I have seen nearly fifty aircraft projects pass, which was totally incredible, I agree. I am delighted to have been able to follow this career”.
Defender of French aeronautics
“He was a great industrialist who loved his territory, his companies and his entrepreneurs. He was my model for me as president of CCI” reacted with emotion Alain Di Crescenzo who succeeded him as president of the CCI of Toulouse in 2010. Claude Terrazzoni will also have been the president of the Chamber of Commerce which transformed the Toulouse-Blagnac airport (of which he was the president) into an independent company whereas until then it was an integrated service of the CCI. A transformation long before its privatization by the Minister of the Economy Emmanuel Macron in 2015. Claude Terrazzoni was also a fervent defender of French aeronautics and often spoke out against those he called “the car makers” when the Les Daimler’s Germans then weighed in with all their weight in EADS and then in Airbus.
The funeral is scheduled for Saturday, October 30. La Dépêche will let you know the location and the schedule and offer its most sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. Goodbye Claude.