‘We can’t wait for hydrogen’: Rolls-Royce – Warren East on the engine maker’s future – The Guardian.
Outgoing CEO looks back on his seven years at helm and how sustainable aviation fuel can power the journey to net zero.
Warren East says it has been a “privilege” to lead Rolls-Royce for seven years, as he prepares to retire on New Year’s Eve. But it has also involved considerable pain.
East’s battles have ranged from a £671m settlement for a giant bribery and corruption scandal from before his time, to the discovery of costly cracks in its jet engines. Then Covid-19 struck, grounding the aeroplanes whose engines Rolls-Royce builds and services.
The crisis was existential for arguably the UK’s most illustrious industrial company. East set about finding more than £7bn from investors and lenders, and cut 7,000 jobs.
Now, he…