[4] Enders joined the marketing department of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace in 1991 and held several functions at DASA until he was promoted to head the defence and security systems business in the frame of the merger of EADS in 2000.

Shortly after his nomination, Enders embarked on a plan to merge with UK-based BAE Systems, which would have created the world's leading defence company.

Although Germany, France and Spain are shareholders of the group, none hold any special blocking rights, meaning the company is governed solely by the Board of Directors and the Executive Management.

[6] On 15 December 2017, the Airbus board – under the leadership of chairman Denis Ranque – confirmed Enders would not stay beyond April 2019 amid corruption allegations in sales campaigns.

[7][8] By the end of his time at Airbus, Enders was widely credited with unifying a company previously divided along national lines, as well as simplifying its governance to reduce political influence.

[11] During his time in office, Enders clashed with the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel over industrial or defense policy and resigned from the conservative CSU party over Germany's opposition to the 2011 military intervention in Libya.

He also faced criticism in French media and inside parts of the aerospace group for overseeing sweeping compliance probes that led to dozens of senior departures without specific allegations.

[9] In 2017, Enders became one of more than a dozen people being formally investigated by Austria's public prosecutor as part of a long-running probe into alleged fraud over a €2 billion deal for 18 Eurofighter combat jets.