Americans Abroad: Propelling Airbus

The rip-roaring success of Europe's aerospace giant owes much to its tireless U.S.-born sales chief Americans Abroad

John Leahy is an unabashed workaholic who spends 200 days a year on the road and puts in 18-hour days in the home office. When he is not making sales presentations or hunkering down in strategy meetings, this silver-haired, 49-year-old native of New York State is calling customers on his mobile phone or jogging to maintain his fighting edge. Colleagues say he is a tough taskmaster who pushes his 500-member sales force as hard as he pushes himself. In many ways, Leahy is a typical American business executive. Except he's not in America. In Toulouse he heads the marketing arm of...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!