Cirrus Aircraft has selected Zean Nielsen to succeed co-founder Dale Klapmeier as CEO. Nielsen has held senior leadership roles at a range of global organisations including Tesla Motors, James Hardie and Bang & Olufsen.

“Cirrus Aircraft has a remarkably bright future ahead,” notes Klapmeier. “We are fortunate to have someone of Zean's calibre and experience to lead us into the next era of growth. I am looking forward to moving into a senior advisory role and continuing to work with our exceptional team on reinventing the future of personal transportation.”

Nielsen says: “I am honoured and humbled to join this team of experienced general aviation leaders and a world-class workforce as we continue to bring game-changing products and services to market. “Our mission is to deliver an aviation experience that is the pinnacle of innovation, quality and safety to our customers, and that is exactly what we will continue to do for many years to come.”

Prior to his role at James Hardie as executive VP of North American sales, Nielsen ran all aspects of Tesla Motors worldwide sales operations efforts as the VP of global sales operations. He began his career at Bang & Olufsen, spending 17 years there and becoming president of B&O North and South America.