From Complexity to Empowerment: Airbus’ Approach to Decentralized Leadership: Paul Coignec (Head of HR, APAC at Airbus)

Paul Coignec is the Head of Human Resources for Asia-Pacific at Airbus, a role he has held since February 2023. Based in Singapore, he leads the people strategy and HR operations across all business divisions, supporting over 3,500 employees in 11 countries. Having spent his entire career with Airbus, Paul has held diverse HR leadership roles across France, Germany, and Singapore, giving him a deep understanding of the company’s culture, operations, and people. A strong advocate for building inclusive and high-performing workplaces, Paul continues to champion initiatives that align business goals with employee experience—ensuring that Airbus remains an employer of choice across the region.

In this episode of The HR Impact Show, Paul reflects on his career journey and the company’s evolving people strategy. He shares how Airbus is navigating complexity by decentralizing decision-making, empowering local leaders, and driving leadership development through its regional Leadership University. Paul also discusses the use of employee engagement insights to shape continuous improvement and innovation across a 160,000-strong global workforce.

He highlights how Airbus is integrating technology and AI into HR—not to replace people, but to enhance performance, agility, and connection—showcasing how one of the world’s largest organizations continues to empower its people while pioneering the future of work.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Airbus' Decentralization Efforts

01:05 Welcome to the HR Impact Show

01:27 Meet Paul Coignec: Head of Human Resources for Asia-Pacific at Airbus

01:55 Paul's Journey at Airbus

09:19 Employee Engagement and Complexity at Airbus

11:24 Airbus' Leadership University and Decentralization

13:52 Leadership Development and Succession Planning

17:20 AI and Future Skills in Aerospace

22:16 Resilience and Wellbeing at Airbus

31:36 The Ideal Workplace of the Future

34:01 Rapid Fire Questions and Conclusion

Resources

[Free] Get this episode key insights here: https://blog.engagerocket.co/the-hr-impact-show

Connect with Paul Coignec : linkedin.com/in/paul-coignec-62142827/

Connect with Dorothy Yiu: linkedin.com/in/dorothy-yiu

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About The HR Impact Show

Join top global people leaders for honest conversations about how to build and transform high-performing cultures.

Hear from CHROs and HR experts from global and world-renowned organisations as they share their top people analytics tips, leadership journeys, lessons and challenges while navigating the complexities of transformation and the multi-generational and diverse cultures in Asia.

Hosted by Dorothy Yiu, EngageRocket's CEO & Co-founder and Fung Tai, EngageRocket's VP of Customer Success.