Jane Basson’s (’99) Leadership Journey Through Aerospace

At first, learning to navigate the aerospace industry was overwhelming. When handed two carloads of reading material, she thought, “I didn’t even realize there were this many different types of planes.” She supported senior media specialists by drafting press releases, assembling press kits and interviewing experts in areas such as flight physics and environmental issues across the vast company—not unlike journalism. “I met all these fantastic people with incredible skills and got to write.” Over time, she thrived in the role and gained intimate knowledge of the company. These days, the copious technical jargon and acronyms—a language Basson calls “Airbussian”—are second nature.

Basson didn’t expect her junior position at Airbus to evolve into a leadership career, growing alongside a rapidly transforming industry. Her sharp writing skills propelled her to higher-level assignments, including executive speechwriting, and her bi-cultural Franco-English background proved an asset. Airbus restructured its communications department and called on her to lead the new writing team and oversee company-wide messaging.

In 2003, she rose to Vice President Internal Communications, where she faced one of Airbus’s most high-profile crises: the fallout from the production delay of the A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft. Despite being a technological breakthrough, misalignment between Airbus’s French and German teams led to wiring flaws, manufacturing delays, and layoffs. Basson’s team had the daunting task of keeping employees informed and engaged throughout the turmoil.

Ready to move on from communications, Basson felt her time at Airbus was over. However, new leadership convinced her to stay and apply her expertise to human resources. In 2008, she became Vice President Culture and Change Management, developing programs to support Airbus’s business transformation strategy and rebuild trust between employees and leadership amidst major restructuring. Basson believes that driving culture change is less about national differences than about shared values and behavior.

In 2016, Basson launched Leadership University, a groundbreaking initiative to democratize leadership training. Traditionally reserved for executives, the award-winning program made development opportunities accessible to 20,000+ managers through dedicated learning spaces around the world.

After years of leadership in Airbus’s Commercial Aircraft division, Basson transitioned to Defense and Space in 2021. She remains energized about the company’s potential. “It’s so huge, so high-tech, so multinational, and there are tons of opportunities to keep learning.” Basson’s mission is to empower teams to not just accept change, but lead it. “How do we engage employees, explain why change is necessary, and get them to embrace transformation?” For Basson, real transformation starts with ownership.