Leadership in unfamiliar environments: Airbus' establishment of an engineering center in India

In 2007, Eugen Welte, CEO of the Indian Airbus Engineering Center, came to Bangalore, India, to establish a captive Engineering Center from scratch. The case, which takes place in 2011, illustrates several situations and leadership challenges Eugen faced while establishing the R&D center in an unfamiliar cultural context. He faced challenges in communication, trust, teamwork, recruitment, and culture. The case outlines Eugen’s experiences and approaches to overcome these different leadership challenges but purposely leaves most situations open for discussions.