ATR has appointed Vittorio Lorenzo Della Bella as its new chief executive officer (CEO), replacing Nathalie Tarnaud Laude, the first woman to lead the regional aircraft manufacturer.
Della Bella will take office on November 1, 2026. He is currently president of Leonardo Helicopters U.S. and has held several positions within the Italian aerospace group, including senior vice-president of customer support, services and training at Leonardo Helicopters.
His appointment also shifts ATR's top executive position from one of its two shareholders to the other. The turboprop manufacturer is owned equally by Airbus and Leonardo, which maintain balanced representation in the company's executive leadership.
Tarnaud Laude came from Airbus when she was appointed ATR CEO in September 2022, succeeding Stefano Bortoli, an executive with a long career at Leonardo.
ATR's leadership returns to Leonardo
The arrangement has resulted in a recurring movement of executives between the two shareholders and ATR, although changes do not always follow a perfect alternating sequence.
Before Bortoli, ATR was led by Christian Scherer, who subsequently returned to Airbus and is now CEO of its Commercial Aircraft business. Other former ATR chiefs include Airbus executives Patrick de Castelbajac and Stéphane Mayer and Italian aerospace executive Filippo Bagnato.
The balance between the shareholders is particularly visible in the changes announced on Thursday. While Leonardo's Della Bella takes over as CEO, Patrick Bergues, an Airbus executive, will become ATR's senior vice-president finance and chief financial officer.
Bergues replaces Andrea Coccetti, who is returning to Leonardo for another position. He joins ATR after serving as CFO of Airbus in the United States and of Starlab Space.
Della Bella has also previously served as managing director of NHIndustries, the consortium behind the NH90 military helicopter. Before joining ATR, Tarnaud Laude had also led NHIndustries and later held senior positions at Airbus Helicopters.
First woman to lead ATR
Tarnaud Laude's departure will end the tenure of the first female CEO in ATR's history. She took the position in 2022 after previously serving as head of NHIndustries and as senior vice-president of new sales and strategy at Airbus Helicopters.
Women remain uncommon in the highest executive positions at aircraft manufacturers. One of the most prominent current examples is Stephanie Pope, who has served as president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes since March 2024. She runs Boeing's commercial aircraft division, while Kelly Ortberg is CEO of parent company Boeing.
Olive Ann Beech, co-founder, president, and chairwoman of the Beech Aircraft Corporation | Textron 
Stephanie Pope, Chief Executive Officer, Boeing Commercial Airplanes | Boeing
There are earlier examples outside the large commercial aircraft sector. Olive Ann Beech led Beech Aircraft for decades after becoming president of the U.S. manufacturer in 1950. The company produced general aviation, business and military aircraft and was eventually acquired by Raytheon in 1980.
Another example is Gretchen Jahn, who was appointed CEO of U.S. general aviation aircraft manufacturer Mooney in 2004. She later left the company in 2006, after a period in which Mooney increased production and introduced the Acclaim high-performance piston aircraft.
