After working in the aeronautics industries in the US and Spain, Ana is sharing her skills and knowledge in contractual policy by helping bring greater harmonisation to the Airbus organisation.

What led you to a career in Airbus and what is your job today?
I started working in the aeronautical field after I finished my Masters in business, joining McDonnell Douglas in the US on an internship. When I returned to Spain, I joined Construcciones Aeronauticas (CASA) and held a number of different positions during the 10 years I worked with that company. As CASA was the Spanish partner of the former Airbus consortium, I was offered a job in Toulouse and started my Airbus adventure.

Today, I am head of procurement contractual policy, responsible for ensuring quality and integrity in all contract arrangements with suppliers. I am also responsible for ensuring there is a consistent set of standard contractual documents for the business’ different procurement areas, addressing all major issues and potential risks in order to protect Airbus business.

How has working at Airbus enabled you to develop your career?
Airbus is keenly aware of the contribution its people make to its success and relies on its employees to achieve its ambitious objectives. Given that, the company makes it possible for employees to develop their professional careers. I have had the opportunity to work in different departments across Airbus, which kept me motivated and allowed me to face new challenges.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The job I stepped into was a newly created position – it did not exist before but was needed in the new integrated organisation. Since then, we’ve made significant progress in this area and I’m very proud of what we have achieved. Today, we have successfully implemented the procurement contractual policy and given employees easy access to more than 100 standard documents covering a large variety of procurement activities. We receive many requests from buyers in Airbus who need our support and I’m very pleased to be able to help. My participation in the continuous improvement of Airbus is definitely rewarding.

What difference has it made being a woman in what is traditionally a male-dominated industry?
Airbus is a modern company, open enough to accept, integrate and encourage women across all its different functions. Improvements could still be made in the recruitment and promotion of women to more senior positions and I think Airbus today is ready to do this. I would like to see Airbus ‘set the standards’ in this area as well as in aircraft excellence.

What would you say to other women to encourage them to work for Airbus?
Working at Airbus is a great opportunity. It’s a growing multinational company in the innovative aerospace industry with a multicultural environment. There are wonderful new challenges such as the A380 and the A400M ahead. Today, only a few companies offer such a challenging environment. I strongly believe that encouraging more women and greater diversity in Airbus will help all of us achieve our goals.

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