Valerie Manning, Vice President and Head of Upgrade Services, Airbus

Valerie Manning is Vice President and head of the Airbus Upgrade Services line of business, leading sale,development and delivery of optional modifications to airframes, cabins, and systems for the Airbus fleet. Dr.Manning previously served as the Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of EADS,covering technology management for all EADS Divisions, Technical Marketing and Communication, and UnitedStates Research & Technology Development. She has managed an EADS Innovation Works technologydevelopment and commercialization program. Dr. Manning started with EADS as Director of Strategy andMergers & Acquisitions at EADS North America, closing several deals. Before this she served as a consultantwith McKinsey & Company and consulted privately in multidisciplinary optimization and supersonic design. Dr.Manning graduated from Princeton University with a B.S in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and earnedan M.S. and Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford. She complemented these degrees with aminor in Orthopaedic Biomechanics. After a time at General Motors as an aerodynamics engineer, Dr. Manningbegan her career as an officer in the United States Air Force, and has served continuously on active duty or inthe reserves since her commission. Dr. Manning is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics.