April 14 (Reuters) - Airbus named Spanish national Amparo Moraleda as the next chair of its board on Tuesday, marking the first time in the European aerospace giant's more than five-decade history that the role will be held by someone who is neither French nor German.
France and Germany each own 10.8% of Airbus and have long dominated the company's upper echelons. The Spanish government holds a 4.1% stake.
Moraleda, who currently serves as lead independent director on the Airbus board, will assume the role in October, succeeding René Obermann, who decided not to seek a new term. The appointment was approved by shareholders gathered at the company's annual general meeting in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
An industrial engineer by training, Moraleda previously served as chief operating officer of Spanish power utility Iberdrola's international division and as general manager of IBM Spain and Portugal. She currently holds board positions at A.P. Moller-Maersk, CaixaBank and Vodafone, among others.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Joe Bavier)
