Bombardier executive suite shuffle continues with CFO hiring

Changes in the executive suite at Bombardier Inc. continue with the parent company of Wichita’s Learjet announcing Thursday that it has hired John Di Bert as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Di Bert’s appointment is effective Aug. 10, the Canadian train and plane manufacturer said in a news release.

Di Bert comes to Bombardier from aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney and will replace Pierre Alary, who has been at Bombardier for 17 years and is retiring.

“Pierre played a central role in the events that marked Bombardier's recent history, from the acquisition and integration of Adtranz to the completion of the latest financing plan,” Bombardier president and CEO Alain Bellemare said in the release. “I wish him a well-deserved retirement and quality time with his family and friends.”

Before joining Pratt & Whitney 14 years ago, Di Bert worked at Rolls-Royce Canada as an accounting manager and at KPMG as a senior auditor.

“Throughout his career, he has driven multiple optimization initiatives both in periods of growth and consolidation,” Bellemare said of Di Bert in the release. “… His team leadership, results orientation and capacity to dig into the business to identify opportunities will certainly be key assets as we embark on our transformation.”

Di Bert is the fifth new executive that Bellemare has brought on since Bellemare was named Bombardier’s top executive in February. The new appointments include ex-Learjet chief David Coleal, who left Spirit AeroSystems as executive vice president to become president of Bombardier Business Aircraft last month.

The hirings come as Bombardier wrestles with lengthy and costly delays in its CSeries airliner program and faces softening demand for its profitable large-cabin, long-range business jets. Bombardier said in mid-May it would cut 1,750 jobs in Canada and Northern Ireland as it reduced production of its Global 5000 and Global 6000 jets.

That action followed a January announcement that it would pause the development of its Learjet 85 composite jet, which resulted in a pre-tax charge of $1.4 billion and the layoff of 620 Learjet employees in Wichita and about 380 others at a Bombardier plant in Mexico.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Bombardier executive suite shuffle continues with CFO hiring."