Daher Group Appoints Michel Denis as New CEO in 2026

Daher Group’s Board of Directors has appointed Michel Denis as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026, finalizing a leadership restructuring initiated late last year.

The June 8, 2026, announcement concludes a search that began when former Chief Executive Officer Didier Kayat stepped down on March 31, 2026, after a 20-year tenure with the French aerospace manufacturers and logistics provider. According to a company press release, Denis will work alongside Executive Deputy CEO Aymeric Daher and Chairman Thibault Scaramanga to lead the family-owned enterprise.

Executive transition and new leadership structure

The appointment of the 61-year-old Denis completes a governance evolution defined by Daher Group in October 2025. Following Kayat’s departure in March, Scaramanga assumed the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer while the board sought an external candidate to bring a fresh perspective to the executive committee.

Denis brings extensive industrial management experience, having spent more than 12 years leading the Manitou Group, where he oversaw operations generating €2.7 billion in annual revenue. His background also includes leadership roles at Fraikin Group, Johnson Controls, and Dalkia.

Scaramanga stated that Denis brings top-tier industrial expertise to the company, specifically in leading corporate transformations and managing stakeholders within a family-owned business structure.

Strategic pairing for aerospace growth

The new governance model pairs Denis’s broad industrial and corporate transformation background with Aymeric Daher’s specialized aerospace knowledge. Daher Group, which manufactures the TBM and Kodiak aircraft lines, reported €1.9 billion in revenue for 2025 and employs 14,500 people globally.

The board designed this dual-leadership approach to support the company’s long-term development across its manufacturing and logistics divisions.

“Together with Aymeric Daher, whose knowledge of the aerospace ecosystem is unparalleled, they will form a complementary and ambitious leadership team dedicated to the Group’s development – today and for the future,” Scaramanga said in the release.

Denis acknowledged the appointment, citing the company’s global stature, family roots, and leading market position as remarkable strengths. He will officially assume his duties at the start of the third quarter.

AirPro News analysis

We view Daher’s decision to bring in an external Chief Executive Officer with heavy equipment and logistics experience as a calculated move to strengthen its industrial base. While Denis lacks a direct aerospace manufacturing background, pairing him with Aymeric Daher ensures the company retains deep institutional knowledge of the aviation sector, particularly regarding the TBM and Kodiak programs. This structure allows the new chief executive to focus on scaling operations, supply chain resilience, and corporate transformation, while the Executive Deputy CEO manages the specific demands of the aerospace ecosystem.

Sources: Daher