Air Power 2017

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

WEBSITEleonardocompany.com

Norman Bone
Chairman and Managing Director, Leonardo MW Ltd

WHAT LED TO THE CREATION OF
THE NEW SINGLE LEONARDO
COMPANY IN THE UK?
We launched Leonardo MW Ltd in January
2017, bringing together our vast breadth
of capability across the United Kingdom
(UK). This improves coherence across
our business, enhancing our ability to
form crucial partnerships. We can also
target investment more effectively.

WHAT ARE THE PARTS
THAT MAKE UP THIS
NEW UK BUSINESS?
Leonardo is one of the UK’s largest high-
tech engineering companies. We have
researched, designed, built and supported
technology in the UK for over 100 years
through famous companies including
Ferranti, Marconi and Westland. We employ
7,000 highly skilled people across the
country with major sites in Basildon, Bristol,
Edinburgh, Luton, Southampton and Yeovil.
Today, we continue to place innovation
and adaptability at the core of all we do,
and we place that at the service of our
customers in the UK and in our export

activities. Leonardo offers UK-designed

aircraft, sensors and electronic systems

for customers operating in the air, on

land and at sea, as well as in the equally

important information, space and cyber

domains. In the UK, we generate around

£2 billion in revenues each year of which

over 50% is derived from exports.

WHY ARE PARTNERSHIPS

SO IMPORTANT FOR

FUTURE BUSINESS?

As markets and operational demands

change, our customers in the UK

and abroad face new challenges.

Partnerships are at the heart of our

approach to help them get the

deployed capability they need.

There are few programmes that start

from a clean sheet of paper. Customers are

looking to develop existing capability, using

solutions that already meet perhaps 80% of

their needs. Our customers select industry

partners who are willing to invest alongside

government and work collaboratively

with other companies, developing

common standards and architectures.

WHAT ARE THE PLANS

FOR DEVELOPING

PARTNERSHIPS WITH

LEONARDO’S UK BUSINESS?

Effective, innovative partnerships are hugely

important to the success of Leonardo,

which is why we’ve invested in relationships

across the globe. This includes in our

supply chain where we have 1,500 SMEs

among our 2,300 UK-based suppliers.

We also recognise that the UK has

a critical shortage of engineers, so we

work with schools, universities and

government initiatives to invest in skills,

with more than 400 apprenticeships

and new graduates across the UK.

Selling abroad is essential to the

success of our business, allowing us

to invest further in the UK. Our ability

to partner, our breadth of capability

and the depth of our skills give us

a strong platform to develop our

business in the UK and drive exports.

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT

LEONARDO SUPPORTS

THE RAF’S OPERATIONAL

REQUIREMENTS?

Leonardo has supported the RAF

throughout its 100 years, since the

First World War, when we developed

direction-finding equipment to target

German Zeppelins and pioneered the

development of aircraft. Today, that

direct involvement can be seen in our

work, for example, with 41 Squadron at

RAF Coningsby, the Test and Evaluation

Squadron responsible for introducing

new capability on to the Typhoon fast

jet. Our collaboration there ensures we

understand the performance of our new

technology, how it fulfils operational

requirements today, and how it can be

further enhanced to deliver what the

Royal Air Force needs tomorrow.

BUILDING EFFECTIVE,

INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

“We work

with schools,

universities and

government

initiatives to

invest in skills”

TWITTER @leonardo_live