Senior Partner
Chris Emerson
Team | Investment Team

Mr. Emerson is a Senior Partner at AE Industrial, bringing over 25 years of aerospace experience in the commercial aviation, U.S. Defense, Rotorcraft, and Space sectors. Mr. Emerson currently serves on the Board of Directors of AE Industrial portfolio companies: The Atlas Group, Firefly Aerospace and York Space Systems, and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for AE Ventures investment All.Space. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Belcan, prior to its sale to Cognizant in 2024. Mr. Emerson also serves on the Board of Directors of Hidden Level and Spirent Federal. Mr. Emerson is the former Chairman & CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc.; in this role he developed and executed a strategy to grow Airbus’ U.S. space business. Previously, he was President of Airbus Helicopters, Inc., where he led a turnaround in the U.S. civil market by growing their market share from ~40% to ~70% in 4 years. Mr. Emerson started his career in 1996 with Daimler – Mercedes Benz in Alabama. In early 2000, he joined Daimler Chrysler Aerospace (DASA) in Germany and was part of the internal team that formed – through a simultaneous IPO and merger of three national entities — EADS (today Airbus). In 2003, Mr. Emerson was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer charged with helping the newly formed executive team establish Airbus North America as a credible U.S. Government contractor. Mr. Emerson was also responsible for investor relations in the U.S. From 2010 to 2015, Mr. Emerson led the global marketing and strategy organization for Airbus’ commercial aircraft division in France during the introduction of the A350 and A320NEO programs.

Education
  • University of Alabama, BS
  • MIT Sloan, Executive Program
  • Stagen Leadership Academy, Integral and Advance Leadership Program
Prior Experience
  • Airbus U.S. Space & Defense
  • Airbus Helicopters
  • Daimler Chrysler Aerospace (DASA)
  • Daimler – Mercedes Benz