Ross McInnes
Ross McInnes | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 8, 1954 Kolkata, India |
| Occupation | Corporate leader |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | Chairman of Safran |
Ross McInnes (born 8 March 1954) is a French corporate leader who has served as chairman of Safran since 2015. Additionally, he has held a directorship at Engie starting in 2018.
Early life
Born in Kolkata, India, to Australian parents, McInnes relocated to Paris in 1965. He completed his secondary education at Lycée Janson de Sailly in 1972, earning a French Baccalaureate, and pursued studies in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at St John's College, Oxford.
Career
McInnes launched his professional journey in 1977 with Kleinwort Benson, working in both London and Rio de Janeiro. He subsequently joined Continental Bank—which later became part of Bank of America—where he held corporate finance positions based in Chicago and Paris.
In 1989, he moved into the industrial sector as Chief Financial Officer at Ferruzzi Corporation of America, followed by a similar CFO role at Eridania Béghin-Say. In 2000, he took on the position of senior vice president and CFO at Thomson-CSF (currently known as Thales Group). Later, he was senior vice president responsible for Finance and Strategy at the PPR group and acted as interim chairman of Générale de Santé’s Management Board in 2007. Afterwards, he assumed the role of vice chairman at Macquarie Capital Europe, where his focus was on infrastructure investments.
Safran
McInnes became part of Safran’s executive team in March 2009 as executive vice president overseeing economic and financial affairs. He advanced to deputy CEO for Finance in 2011. On 5 December 2014, the board of Safran endorsed his appointment as chairman, which took effect in February 2015.
On 25 February 2015, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated him as Special Representative for relations with Australia, tasked with strengthening bilateral trade ties and encouraging Australian investment in France.
Honours
In recognition of his contributions, McInnes was named Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 2008 and elevated to Officier status in 2017.