French aerospace and defense firm Safran has named Air Force Brig. Gen. Fabien Kuzniak as military adviser, reporting directly to Philippe Errera, executive vice president of international and public affairs.
Starting as a fighter pilot, his military career spans several overseas deployments, including Africa, Central America and the Middle East. Among his most notable deployments are as commander of the French Joint Air Task Force in Chad in 2007, commander of the Normandie-Niemen fighter regiment in Colmar in 2008 and second-in-command of Operation Barkhane from 2021 to 2022.
He also held a number of senior leadership roles at France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces, including Strategic Command, Operations Planning and Command Center and International Military Relations.
Kuzniak graduated from the French military academy Ecole de l’Air de Salon de Provence and holds a master’s in strategy, international relations and industrial dynamics from Universite Pantheon-Assas.
Safran has been producing several aviation components for commercial and military applications. In 2023, the French multinational company had 92,000 employees worldwide and posted sales of $25 billion.