Villanti succeeds Gian Piero Cutillo who has been promoted to group role.
Leonardo has ended months of speculation over the future leadership of its helicopter business with the appointment of Stefano Villanti as divisional managing director, effective 1 September, succeeding Gian Piero Cutillo.
Cutillo, who has led Leonardo Helicopters since October 2017, was in May promoted to the post of group co-general manager, reporting to new chief executive Lorenzo Mariani.
At the time, the Italian aerospace group indicated he would retain his post as the head of the helicopter unit.
Villanti is no stranger to Leonardo Helicopters, having held senior leadership positions over the past decade, most recently as senior vice-president of marketing and sales.
“Leonardo is a major global player in the rotorcraft industry – a sector that, like much of the wider aerospace, defence and security landscape, is navigating a period of considerable change,” he says.
“This environment calls for a balanced approach: continuity in execution and performance, combined with a careful assessment of longer-term priorities and the opportunities most valuable to maintaining and strengthening Leonardo’s competitiveness.”
During his almost nine years in charge of Leonardo Helicopters, Cutillo oversaw strong growth at the unit, with revenues rising from €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) in 2017 to €5.8 billion in 2025, representing around 30% of the group’s total revenue.
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