Former Airbus chief Jean Pierson has died, say former colleagues

Jean Pierson, a French industrialist who propelled planemaker Airbus onto the global jet market and began its transformation from a loose consortium into a European aerospace giant, has died, former colleagues said on Thursday.

Pierson died at the age of 80 in southern France. He ran Toulouse-based Airbus between 1985 and 1998 and was credited with striking its first major deals to penetrate Boeing's home market in the United States.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)