An Aviation Forum
Inspired by Leaders
For Leaders
In 2018, the IASC team organized the inaugural Leadership Summit as the civil aviation component of the CIIE. We actively engaged industry stakeholders to better understand how our event could serve the sector's evolving needs. Leaders such as Phillippe Bardol (Asia Pacific SVP, Safran), Dr. Christoph Schrempp (GM, Airbus Tianjin Delivery Center), and Troy Wang (SVP, Customers Greater China, Rolls-Royce) generously shared their perspectives, revealing a clear demand from frontline aviation professionals for a platform to align ideas, co-develop solutions, launch new strategies, and deepen collaboration. The summit was created to fill this gap.
The Leadership Summit convenes top voices in aviation—business leaders, innovators, policymakers, and academics—to tackle the most pressing issues shaping the industry’s future. It offers a dynamic space for strategic dialogue, breakthrough thinking, and high-impact networking.
The 8th IASC Leadership Summit
November, 2025 | Shanghai, China
An affiliated event of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Summit is an annual forum where global titans, visionaries, and trailblazers in civil aviation come together to discuss the future of aerospace.
Aviation’s Giants
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Airbus
Dr. Christoph SCHREMPP
General Manager
Airbus Tianjin Delivery Center“The opportunities we have here in China are awe-inspiring. We see many private investors, government-driven initiatives, and support for the China 2025 development of the aviation industry.”
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Boeing
Gabrielle KOUCHCJI
Investing Director
HorizonX Ventures“While Boeing is creating some of the best aircraft and innovating on its own, there is more than just aerospace and what we are used to; they will affect the future of this industry.”
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COMAC
WU Guanghui
Vice President
Chief Designer of C919 Program"China's large aircraft projects have a significant driving effect on the whole industrial chain... It can not only promote economic transformation and upgrading but also be one of China's pillar industries in the future."
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Embraer
GUO
Managing Director
VP of Commercial Aviation
Embraer China“China is about to become one of the world's largest air transportation markets; its immense demand drives the evolution of its fleet structure and air route.”
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Safran
Philippe BARDOL
Senior Vice President
Asia Pacific“Safran has been in China for more than 40 years. We have a very strong relationship suppliers in China, from AVIC and ACC to the private sector. During the period of COVID, this very complex supply chain has shown its strong resilience.”
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Collins Aerospace
Jim CHEN
Director
Supply Chain“China is both a key market and a vital supply chain base for Collins Aerospace. With nearly 40 years of presence, we’ve built strong, dependable partnerships across the country.”
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GE Aviation
ZHANG Zhiwei
General Manager
China Aviation Programs“Leveraging China’s ongoing reform and global integration, GE has consistently delivered efficient, reliable products and services to the Chinese aviation market…Through deep integration into the local ecosystem, GE has fostered shared growth and long-term prosperity alongside its Chinese partners.”
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Honeywell Aerospace
XIAO Jin
CTO
China“As aviation shifts toward distributed electric propulsion, Honeywell is at the forefront, delivering advanced electrification and green technologies for next-generation platforms.”
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Rolls-Royce
Troy WANG
Executive Vice President
Greater China“Decarbonization is not only a societal imperative—it’s also one of the greatest commercial and technological opportunities of our time.”
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Thales
Jérôme BENDELL
VP of Thales North Asia
CEO of Thales China“It's (IASC) really a very interesting good platform to meet all the aerospace network, both customers and suppliers with the local aerospace ecosystem in China. This is really key.”
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Pratt Whitney
Tony SHEN
Customer Business Director
Greater China“Our new model is recovering much faster than our previous model….The main reason being airlines believe that the use of our efficient new engines is key to reducing fuel consumption in these exceptional times.”
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Washington State Dept. of Commerce
Dr. Lisa Brown
Director“IASC has done a great job of creating a forum to bring together the key players in the world to continue this dialog about our opportunities and challenges.”
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Government of France
Laurent BILI
Ambassador of France to China“Aviation is - and will remain - one of the most structuring partnerships in the bilateral relationship between France and China. “
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Washington State Dept. of Commerce
Chris GREEN
Assistant Director
Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness“We brought our delegation of nearly 40 members, including companies, government leaders, and economic professionals, specifically to continue our positive relationship with China and work together in the future.”
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Aerospace Valley
Thilo SCHÖNFELD
Deputy Director
International Affairs“The European Aerospace Cluster Partnership represents over 40 clusters, 4,800 companies, and 50 academic institutions. Today, we represent members from 15 countries, approximately half of the European Union.”
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Choose Paris Region
Franck MARGAIN
President”The Paris Region is the largest cluster for aviation and aerospace in Europe including several major companies like Safran, Dassault, and Airbus. Choose Paris Region keeps proving strong support with incentives to make the aerospace industry more sustainable and stronger.”
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Hamburg Aviation
Niklas SCHILLING
Manager International Affairs
Coordinator EACP“One core focus is leveraging our existing networks to help Chinese SMEs connect with international partners. This involves both GACP and EACP. My participation in this summit is an excellent example of how these networks can be utilized to open doors to new markets.”
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Aerospace Wales Forum
Rachael Blackburn
Director“We know China is at the forefront of emerging technologies. Collaborating with Chinese enterprises could help us access technologies we lack or bring European innovations to China. Together, we can explore synergies that benefit both sides.”