From his Paris office thousands of miles away François Lureau was as horrified by what he saw on September 11 as the millions of Americans who watched on television in stunned disbelief. But unlike most Americans, as the CEO of a multinational aerospace and defense company, Lureau was in a unique position to do something about the terrorist attacks–or at least to help ensure that nothing like it ever happened again.
Immediately after the attacks, the 57-year-old executive directed top lieutenants within Thales Aerospace, the French company he has piloted since July 2000, to form a task force to study ways of improving air security using existing technologies applied both in the air and on the ground. Within weeks the Thales team, personally led by Lureau, had mapped out a strategy for the company for the next several years, the initial phase of which involved offering one-on-one security consultations to airlines, airports, government bodies and others free of charge.
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