France Appoints New Onera Boss Emmanuel Chiva

LYON—The French government has named Emmanuel Chiva chairman and CEO of aerospace research and technology center Onera, effective March 18.

Chiva’s military background speaks to Onera’s renewed focus on defense activities in a tense geopolitical context, notwithstanding the state-run organization’s prominence in wind tunnel testing for commercial aircraft.

Chiva’s career has centered on innovation for military applications. After having led startups in artificial intelligence and military simulation, Chiva joined the Armed Forces Ministry and became the director of the newly created Defense Innovation Agency (DGA) in 2018. From 2022-25, he led DGA, France’s armament procurement agency, where he implemented the government’s “war economy” strategy.

Chiva succeeds Bruno Sainjon, who left his mark by obtaining a massive budget and reinforcing the foundations of the S1 wind tunnel, preventing a collapse. Under his 11-year tenure, Sainjon also increased Onera’s revenues.

Over the next few years, preparations for an Airbus A320 successor will be a focus for Chiva. Onera’s know-how may benefit the next-generation single-aisle with aerodynamic simulation software and major test facilities, such as the S1 wind tunnel.