Airbus Chief knighted

Noel Forgeard, the chief executive behind Airbus’s successful
bid to unseat Boeing as the world’s biggest commercial
planemaker, was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on
Wednesday (7th of april).
Named a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire,
Forgeard received the honor during a visit by the Queen,
accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, to Airbus’s headquarters
in the southern French city of Toulouse.
The Queen is in France on a three-day state visit marking 100
years since the Entente Cordiale, a 1904 agreement to end
colonial rivalries, which has proved a lasting alliance.
Airbus, which is 20-percent owned by Britain’s BAE Systems, buys
wings and other components built in the UK, supporting thousands
of jobs.
Airbus’s success has also helped UK aero engine maker
Rolls-Royce and other aircraft component suppliers.
Forgeard joins Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former New York
City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Irish singer Bob Geldof in a
short list of foreign nationals to receive the honor.