Catherine Jestin, Executive Vice President Digital at Airbus, has been unanimously re-elected as Chairwoman of the Gaia-X Board of Directors (BoD). Her reappointment was confirmed during the first meeting of the newly elected Board, held on 4 July 2025, following the organisation’s second Ordinary General Assembly on 25 June.
This marks Jestin’s second term as Chairwoman, continuing her leadership for the 2025–2027 mandate.
“It’s a true privilege to continue serving this initiative, building a federated, secure, and trustworthy data ecosystem for Europe and beyond,” said Jestin.
Jestin has held the position of Executive Vice President Digital at Airbus since 1 July 2021, and sits on the company’s Executive Committee. Her role focuses on advancing Airbus’ digital transformation through cutting-edge IT systems and solutions. Her previous roles include Chief Information Officer at Airbus and Airbus Helicopters, as well as senior Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) positions at Rio Tinto in Montreal, Canada, and a 17-year tenure at Accenture, where she became a Partner in 2002, a position she held for five years.
As Chairwoman for the past two years and a member of the Gaia-X Board for the past four years, Jestin has played a pivotal role in representing the diverse interests of the user community, from large enterprises to SMEs. Under her leadership, Airbus has actively contributed to Gaia-X’s core committees: Policy Rules & Labelling, Technical, and Data Space Business, helping to define key implementation standards.
Looking ahead, Jestin expressed her commitment to advancing the Gaia-X Trust Framework and ensuring the sustainability and quality of the organisation’s operations.
“Gaia-X is at a critical juncture,” she stated. “I am committed to supporting its evolution while maintaining the high standards we have set.”
“On behalf of Gaia-X, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Catherine Jestin for her outstanding leadership as Chairwoman over the past two years. Her strategic vision and deep industry expertise have been critical in driving our progress toward enabling trusted decentralised digital ecosystems. We are proud to continue this journey with her at the helm for another term and look forward to the next two years of impactful collaboration under her leadership.” – Ulrich Ahle, Gaia-X CEO
